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Research  Publications  of  the  University  of  Minnesota 


Studies  in  the  Social  Sciences 
Number  14 


ARMENIAN  LEGENDS  AND 
FESTIVALS 


BY 


LOUIS  A.  BOETTIGER,  M.A. 


Price:  75  Cents 


Published  by  the  University  of  Minnesota 
Minneapolis,  January,  1920 


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(Continued  inside  back  cover) 


Research  Publications  of  the  University  of  Minnesota 


Studies  in  the  Social  Science! 
Number  14 


ARMENIAN  LEGENDS  AND 
FESTIVALS 

BY 

LOUIS  A.  BOETTIGER,  M.A. 


Puhlished  by  the   University  of  Minnesota 
Minneapolis,  January,  1920 


Copyright  1920 

BY    THE 

University  of  Minnesota 


oc /onn ibQC( 


PREFACE 


The  author  of  the  study  which  follows  responded  to  the  lure  of  his 
task  for  both  theoretical  and  practical  reasons.  He  seemed,  because  of 
his  intimate  personal  relationship  to  Armenian  life,  to  be  peculiarly  qual- 
ified to  study  and  interpret  a  cross-section  of  that  country's  life.  It  is 
particularly  uigent  that  we  as  Americans  have  authentic  studies  of  Ar- 
menia and  Armenian  social  life.  Heretofore  there  has  been  a  striking 
lack  of  such  materials  readily  accessible  in  English.  Because  of  the  not 
inconsiderable  immigration  which  reaches  us  from  Armenia,  and  because 
also  there  has  been  a  call  for  the  United  States  to  act  as  mandatory  for  this 
country  under  the  peace  treaty,  we  should  penetrate  more  deeply  into  the 
Armenian  heart  than  we  have  been  able  to  do  so  far,  if  we  are  to  carry 
through  successfully  our  job  either  as  assimilator  or  as  friendly  guardian. 
Moreover  there  is  incumbent  upon  the  United  States  in  particular  the  duty 
of  understanding  a  country  like  Armenia,  since  we  have  been  foremost 
in  proclaiming  the  doctrine  of  the  rights  of  small  nationalities.  Those 
are  the  practical  purposes  from  the  standpoint  of  social  politics  which  have 
given  rise  to  and  confer  full  warrant  upon  this  study. 

Of  no  less  importance,  however,  is  the  contribution  which  Mr.  Boetti- 
ger's  study  makes  to  theoretical  sociology.  He  has  sketched  out  for  us 
the  picture  of  a  refractory  culture  which  refuses  to  amalgamate  with  or 
yield  to  or  be  permeated  by  rival  cultures.  The  social  history  of  this  sturdy 
people  offers  us  a  very  clear-cut  example  of  what  really  makes  a  society 
or  a  nation.  Not  mountains,  not  dynasties,  not  blood,  but  common  inter- 
ests, common  traditions,  common  beliefs;  in  short,  mental  community. 

The  theoretical  joins  with  the  practical  service  of  this  study  if  it  can 
strengthen  our  understanding  that  only  as  our  own  blood  and  that  of  our 
Armenian  friends  reach  the  place  where  they  boil  at  the  same  temperature, 
or  are  cooled  by  the  same  application  of  reason,  can  we  minister  to  each 
other  or  carry  out  the  new  partnersb>  which  may  lie  immediately  ahead 
of  us  in  the  reestablishment  of  peace  ana  t      reorganization  of  world  comity. 

\rthur  J.  Todd 


CONTENTS 

Pages 

Introduction 1-2 

Part  I.  Legends 

Chapter  I.  The  geography  of  Armenia 5-8 

Chapter  II.  Ancient  historical  legends 9-23 

Section  1 .  The  legend  of  Haic 9 

2.  The  legend  of  Ara  and  Semiramis 10 

3.  Historical  background  of  the  legend  of  Ara  and 

Semiramis 11 

4.  The  legend  of  Vahakn 14 

5.  The  historic  background  of  the  legend  of  Vahakn  15 

6.  The  period  of  national  integration 17 

7.  Legends  of  Artasches  and  Artavasd 20 

8.  Conclusions 22 

Chapter  III.  Legends  of  the  conversion  to  Christianity 24-38 

Section  1.  Pre-Christian  mythology  and  religion 24 

2.  Legends  of  Abgar,  Thaddeus,  and  St.  Bartholo- 

mew   27 

3.  Legends  of  Rhipsime  and  Gregory 29 

4.  The  Armenian  church  as  a  social  force 34 

Chapter  IV.  Locality  legends 39-44 

Section  1 .  Ararat 39 

2.  Khor-Virap  and  Erzerum 43 

Chapter  V.  Intei  pretation  and  conclusions 45-48 

Part  II.  Festivals 

Chapter  I.  The  Gregorian  church 

Chapter  II.  Pagan  folk  festivals 

Section  1 .  Vartavar  and  the  Festival  of  Mihr 

2.  The  Day  of  the  Dead  and  Vartan's  Day 

3.  Fortune-Telling  Day 

Chapter  III.  Christian  folk  festivals 

Section  1 .  Christmas,  Easter,  and  New  Year 

2.  Special  church  ceremonies 

Chapter  IV.  Private  festival  occasions 

Section  1.  Baptism 

2.  Betrothal 

3.  Marriage 

4.  Funeral 

Chapter  V.  Summary 

Conclusions 

Bibliography 99-100 


ARMENIAN  LEGENDS  AND  FESTIVALS 

INTRODUCTION 

The  study  which  follows  has  a  very  definite  objective  apart  from  the 
mere  gathering  of  materials,  namely,  to  interpret  as  far  as  the  subject- 
matter  would  permit,  the  social  life  of  the  Armenian  people.  The  legends 
and  festivals  described  have  thus  been  selected  from  a  larger  mass  of 
material  with  this  principle  in  mind.  I  have,  therefore,  omitted  such  as 
seemed  to  me  to  be  of  little  or  no  social  value.  Also,  in  full  accordance 
with  this  plan,  I  have  chosen  to  include  certain  church  ceremonies  which 
give  rise  to  such  festivals,  and  are  of  such  social  importance  that  I  consid- 
ered them  an  organic  part  of  my  subject.  Otherwise  I  think  I  have  kept 
within  the  strict  confines  as  indicated  by  the  title  of  this  study. 

It  must,  therefore,  be  evident  that  neither  Part  One  on  legends,  nor 
Part  Two  on  festivals,  is  exhaustive,  and  this  is  necessarily  so,  not  only 
because  of  my  selective  plan,  but  also  because  much  of  the  work  on  this 
and  kindred  subjects  has  been  done  by  the  French,  and  is  available 
only  on  the  continent.  All  of  the  sources  used  are,  however,  original  in 
two  possible  constructions  of  the  term;  that  is,  they  are  the  works  of 
Armenians  who  have  lived  for  many  years  in  their  native  land,  or  of 
foreigners,  generally  French  or  English,  who  have  traveled  through  the 
country  and  gathered  their  material  first  hand.  A  large  portion  of  this 
matter  I  have  been  able  to  check  up  and  add  to  through  my  wife,  an 
Armenian,  who  lived  in  Constantinople  most  of  her  life,  and  who  is  naturally 
versed  in  the  folk-lore  of  her  native  land.  While  this  has  been  the  chief 
source  of  my  interest,  it  is  not  the  only  one,  for  during  my  three  years' 
work  in  Beirut,  Syria,  I  became  acquainted  with  many  Armenians. 

To  describe  a  legend,  or  a  festival,  and  to  tag  it  Armenian,  is  about  as 
purposeful  and  enlightening  as  to  explain  Plato's  idea  of  social  unity  to  a 
person  who  has  no  picture  of  Greek  civilization.  I  have,  therefore,  found  it 
necessary  to  fit  these  legends  and  festivals  into  the  particular  settings  that 
seemed  to  me  most  natural.  The  legends  that  date  from  pagan  times  are 
meaningless  apart  from  their  historical  background;  the  church  legends 
and  festivals  are  without  value  apart  from  their  religious-historical  setting, 
while  such  legends  as  those  of  Ararat  require  a  description  of  the  natural 
environment  to  which  they  belong.  The  conclusions  and  interpretation 
which  this  study  gives  rise  to,  as  well  as  the  manner  in  which  I  have  organ- 
ized and  attempted  to  weave  the  material  together  into  a  unified  fabric, 
are  my  own. 

Most  of  the  books  used  have  been  supplied  by  the  Case  Memorial 
Library  of  Hartford  Theological  Seminary,  and  I  owe  the  Reverend  M.  H. 


2  INTRODUCTION 

Ananikian  of  that  institution  my  thanks  for  his  gracious  cooperation  in 
suggesting  materials  and  providing  me  with  them.  I  am  also  deeply 
indebted  to  Professor  J.  W.  Beach  for  his  painstaking  criticism  and  valuable 
suggestions,  and  for  the  corrections  and  suggestions  offered  by  Professor 
W.  S.  Davis  and  Professor  A.  E.  Jenks.  To  Professor  A.  J.  Todd  I  am 
especially  grateful,  for  it  was  under  his  direction  and  supervision  that  this 
study  was  carried  out. 

LOUIS    A.   BOETTIGER 


PART  ONE 
LEGENDS 


CHAPTER   I 
THE   GEOGRAPHY   OF  ARMENIA 

Armenia  is  a  huge  plateau,  a  westward  extension  of  the  great  Iranian 
highland,  bounded  by  the  Caucasus  Mountains  on  the  north,  the  Taurus 
Mountains  and  Kurdistan  on  the  south,  the  Persian  lowlands  on  the  south- 
east, and  the  Black  and  Caspian  seas.  The  average  height  of  the  plateau 
is  6,000  feet.  As  it  ends  abruptly  at  the  Black  Sea  on  one  side,  so  on  the 
other  it  breaks  down  in  rugged  terraces  to  the  Mesopotamian  lowlands; 
on  the  east  it  sinks  gradually  to  the  lower  levels  of  Persia,  and  on  the  west 
to  the  plains  of  Asia  Minor.  The  chief  mountain  ranges  run  from  northeast 
to  southwest,  rising  above  the  general  level  of  the  plateau  to  an  altitude 
ranging  from  8,000  to  12,000  feet  and  culminating  in  Ararat,  the  lofty 
summit  of  which  stands  17,000  feet  above  sea  level.  Broad,  elevated, 
and  fertile  valleys  range  themselves  between  the  mountains,  the  main 
lines  of  which  are  determined  by  the  four  chief  rivers  of  the  country,  the 
Tigris,  the  Euphrates,  the  Aras,  and  the  Kur.  All  four  rise  in  the  plateau, 
the  two  former  emptying  into  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  the  latter  two  into  the 
Caspian  Sea.  The  Euphrates  divides  the  country  into  what  is  known  as 
great  and  little  Armenia,  or  Armenia  major  and  Armenia  minor,  Armenia 
major  on  the  east  and  Armenia  minor  on  the  west.  Although  the  valleys 
are  generally  broad  expanses  of  arable  land,  grass  covered  and  treeless, 
the  gorges  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris  can  not  be  surpassed  in  grandeur 
and  wildness.  The  winters  are  long  and  severe,  and  the  summers  short, 
dry,  and  hot.  In  the  city  of  Erzerum  the  range  of  temperature  is  from 
—  22°  to  84°,  and  snow  is  usually  present  in  June.1 

In  consequence  of  the  long  and  severe  winters  the  villages  are  built 
on  gentle  slopes  of  the  hillsides  in  which  the  houses  are  excavated.  Robert 
Curzon,  who  traveled  through  the  country  about  1850,  has  written  the 
best  description  of  them.2  A  rectangular  plot  of  ground  about  the  size 
of  an  English  acre  is  laid  out  and  excavated  to  a  depth  of  seven  or  eight 
feet  at  the  back  side,  decreasing  gradually  with  the  slope  of  the  hill  to  a 
depth  of  about  two  feet.  After  a  careful  leveling  of  the  ground,  trunks 
of  straight  trees  are  cut  and  arranged  in  rows  for  the  support  of  the  ceiling, 
which  consists  of  cross-beams  interspersed  by  a  wooden  frame-work  upon 
which  the  removed  soil  is  laid  to  a  considerable  thickness.  The  walls  are 
made  of  stone.  In  entering  the  habitation  at  the  lower  slope  of  the  hill- 
side, one  is  obliged  to  descend  three  or  four  steps  to  the  outer  door,  which 

>  Detailed  descriptions  of  geography  and  geology  may  be  found  in  Lynch,  Armenia;  St.  Martin, 
Memoire  sur  I'Armenie,  2.  Summary  descriptions  may  be  found  in  the  New  Schaff  Herzog  and 
Britannica  encyclopedias. 

i  Robert  Curzon,  Armenia. 


6  LOUIS  A.   BOETTICER 

opens  to  a  passage  six  to  ten  feet  in  length,  at  the  end  of  which  is  a  second 
door,  constructed  of  wood  like  the  first.  This  door  swings  to  through  the 
operation  of  a  curious  wooden  weight  passed  over  a  kind  of  pulley,  in  order 
to  keep  the  outside  cold  from  entering  the  inner  chamber.  The  inside  of 
the  door  is  usually  covered  with  a  rough,  red-dyed  goatskin.  Directly 
before  the  inner  door  is  a  wooden  platform  raised  some  two  feet  above  the 
ground  and  known  in  Turkish  as  the  "Salamlik,"  the  hall  of  reception  of 
the  head  of  the  family.  Chairs  and  tables  it  possesses  none,  only  divans 
richly  draped  with  Kurdish  stuffs  placed  against  the  stone  walls  that  bound 
the  two  sides  of  the  platform.  The  floor  is  carpeted  with  tekeke,  a  kind  of 
grey  felt,  and  the  walls  are  decorated  with  swords,  knives,  pistols,  and 
other  weapons.  On  the  other  two  sides,  the  Salamlik  is  bounded  by  wooden 
rails  to  keep  away  the  sheep  and  cattle  which  occupy  the  greatest  pro- 
portion of  floor  space,  and  whose  breathing  helps  materially  to  keep  the 
chamber  warm.  The  other  members  of  the  household  are  confined  behind 
the  stone  wall  where  the  space  is  sometimes  split  up  into  two  or  more 
chambers  for  the  various  families  of  the  patriarchal  household.  One  of 
these  rooms  is  the  common  eating-room,  and  is  provided  with  an  open 
hearth,  fireplace,  and  chimney  which  leans  forward  over  the  fireplace  and 
draws  up  the  smoke  through  a  hole  in  the  turf -covered  roof.  A  great  stone 
is  placed  over  the  chimney  to  keep  children  at  play  and  grazing  animals 
from  falling  through.  In  traveling  through  the  country  on  horseback, 
particular  care  must  be  taken  lest  the  horse  step  through  an  old  chimney 
hole  and  break  his  leg.  The  windows  are  funnel  shaped  holes  through  the 
ceiling  spanned  with  oiled  paper. 

Such  is  the  Armenian  household  in  which  the  people  live  day  and  night 
during  eight  winter  months  of  the  year  in  the  coldest  section  of  the  country, 
as  Erzerum  and  Mush.  That  many  of  the  evenings  were  passed  in  listening 
to  the  tales  and  gossip  of  a  wandering  minstrel,  or  to  the  legends  and  folk- 
beliefs  of  the  grey-haired  members  of  the  family,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
That  the  national  tradition  was  passed  on  in  this  manner  from  the  aged 
to  the  younger,  to  be  again  passed  on  in  their  turn,  is  a  matter  of  as  much 
certainty  as  that  part  at  least  of  this  same  tradition  has  been  preserved 
through  the  continually  recurring  storms  of  the  passing  centuries.  The 
recounting  of  national  legends  and  folk-lore  is  a  chief  means  of  amusement 
even  in  the  warmer  sections  of  the  country,  where  the  climate  makes  a 
free  community  life  possible.  How  much  more  place,  then,  must  it  have 
had  in  these  colder  sections  where  only  the  head  of  the  family  ever  left 
the  household  in  winter-time,  and  then  only  in  case  of  absolute  necessity. 

As  has  been  suggested,  this  style  of  dwelling-place  is  not  common  to 
all  parts  of  Armenia.  In  some  places  the  houses  are  built  entirely  above 
ground,  usually  of  stone,  and  sometimes,  especially  in  the  case  of  the  poorer 
inhabitants,  of  mud.    Though  the  winters  are  not  so  long  or  severe  as  in 


THE   GEOGRAPHY   OF  ARMENIA  7 

the  district  of  Erzerum,  they  are  nevertheless  sufficiently  cold  to  require 
a  fire  six  or  seven  months  of  the  year.  The  characteristic  feature  of  every 
living-  and  dining-room  is  the  large  "toneer"  or  circular  fireplace  dug  out 
to  a  depth  of  three  to  four  feet  in  the  center  of  the  room.  Here  the  fire  is 
built  in  the  morning,  usually  with  "tezek,"  the  most  common  variety  of 
fuel  which  is  a  sun-baked  mixture  of  straw  and  sheep  or  cow  dung.  The 
bread  is  baked  and  the  meals  are  cooked  in  the  "toneer"  and  when  it  is 
time  to  eat,  the  members  sit  about  the  open  space,  letting  their  feet  hang 
over  the  fire  to  keep  warm.  In  the  hut  described  by  Montpereux,  there 
was  but  a  single  opening  in  the  roof  which  served  for  window  and  chimney 
at  the  same  time,  and  which  was  often  carefully  sealed  up  with  straw  to 
keep  out  the  cold.8  This  author  has  given  a  clear  picture  of  the  common 
family  fireplace  and  sleeping  chamber  in  which  each  person  fell  asleep  as 
best  he  might  upon  rugs  and  skins,  keeping  as  near  the  "toneer"  as 
possible.  And  if  the  traditions,  legends,  and  folk-lore  that  will  make  up 
the  body  of  this  thesis  are  the  common  possession  of  the  people,  as  I  have 
reason  to  believe  them  to  be,  in  spite  of  drastic  measures  taken  to  suppress 
them,  how  better  could  they  have  been  told  and  retold  than  while  lounging 
about  the  "toneer"  during  long  winter  evenings  before  sleeping  time?4 
In  what  other  respects  the  natural  environment  of  the  people  moulded 
the  common  life,  one  can  only  conjecture.  That  the  cold  winters  and  deep 
river  valleys  have  tended  to  the  formation  of  isolated  communities,  clan- 
nishness,  and  provincialism,  as  is  contended  by  some  writers,  has  not 
generally  been  true.  Tidal  waves  of  conquering  civilizations  have  passed 
over  the  country  too  frequently  to  make  such  an  influence  possible.5 
Furthermore  the  people  are  bound  together  by  a  national  religion,  whose 
chief  officials  are  chosen  by  the  lay  members  and  priesthood  of  the  many 
communities.6  These  representatives  to  the  national  religious  assemblies 
return  to  their  own  people  brimming  with  news  and  reports  of  politi- 
cal as  well  as  religious  and  social  matters.  Such  facts  together  with  a 
common  ancestry,  a  common  tradition,  and  a  common  language  have 
moulded  a  nation,  and  not  a  thousand  differentiated  groups  among  a 
people  who  were  once  a  nation.  They  have  tended  to  solidify  and  unify 
the  national  character,  and  it  is  just  this  process  of  solidification  that 
gives  signii.cance  to  the  whole  fabric  of  beliefs,  legends,  and  festivals  of 
the  people. 

*  Dubois  de  Montpereux,  Voyages  3:400. 

4  There  is  a  belief  that  the  toneer  is  sacred.  "Nur  der  alte  T'onir,  der  offen  Backofen,  der  von  den 
Iraniern  entlehnt  ist  und  am  funften  Jahrhundert  schon  gebraucht  wird,  gilt  uberall  in  Armenien  als 
heilig."     Abeghian,  Der  armenische  Volksglaube  p.  3. 

1  Surrounded  as  Armenia  was  with  almost  all  of  the  ancient  civilizations,  including  the  Parthians, 
Scythians,  Medes,  Assyrians,  Babylonians,  Persians,  Greeks,  and  Romans,  she  was  inevitably  involved 
in  continual  warfare,  while  the  central  situation  of  the  territory  made  it  a  common  stamping  ground 
for  hostile  armies.     Langlois  1  :ix. 

6  Ormanian,  The  Church  of  Armenia  pp.  151-54. 


8  LOUIS  A.    BOETTIGER 

As  a  nation,  the  Armenian  people  are  exclusive,  but  this  is  an  entire- 
ly different  matter.  For  three  years  I  have  had  occasion  to  observe 
groups  of  students  belonging  to  different  nations,  chiefly  Egyptians,  Syr- 
ians, Greeks,  Jews,  Persians,  Turks,  and  Armenians,  and  the  latter  al- 
ways showed  a  most  persistent  determination  to  confine  their  friendships 
and  social  intercourse  to  themselves.  Perhaps  this  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
nearly  all  of  the  nations  above  mentioned  have  at  one  time  or  another 
dominated  the  Armenians;  perhaps  it  is  due  to  the  persecution  they  have 
recently  suffered,  which,  though  it  has  been  a  sufficiently  important  fact 
to  result  in  serious  social  and  psychological  changes,  has  by  no  means  been 
characteristic  of  the  history  of  the  people,  as  it  has  been,  for  example, 
of  the  Jews ;  or  perhaps  it  is  due  to  the  solidarity  and  oneness  of  the  people 
as  a  whole.  I  am  inclined  rather  to  the  latter  explanation,  and  may  per- 
haps be  able  to  prove  it  so. 

Nevertheless,  the  singularity  of  the  physical  environment  has  placed 
its  irremovable  stamp  upon  the  people.  The  words  that  best  describe 
the  country  are  not  trees,  hills,  forests,  gently  flowing  streams,  such  words 
as  commonly  express  American  landscape,  but  rather,  gorges,  mountain 
ranges,  broad  river  valleys,  treeless  expanses  of  country.  There  is  space 
to  make  one  think  of  other  worlds  and  other  shores,  and  there  are  moun- 
tains suggestive  of  strength,  that  rise  majestic  above  the  plateau,  to  fill 
one  with  awe  and  wonder.  Religious  the  people  are  naturally,  but  more 
than  that,  they  are  thoughtful,  reflecting,  considering.  No  writer  that 
I  have  read  but  has  spoken  of  the  Armenian  as  intellectually  alert  and 
capable.  That  this  thoughtfulness,  this  robust  element  in  their  ideal- 
ism is  in  part  the  stamp  of  physical  nature,  there  can  be  little  doubt. 


CHAPTER    II 

ANCIENT  HISTORICAL  LEGENDS 

Section  1.     The  Legend  of  Haic 

Armenians  do  not  call  themselves  Armenians  nor  their  country  Ar- 
menia. They  are  descendants  of  Haic,  as  the  legend  goes,  who  was  the 
son  of  Togarmah,  the  son  of  Japhet,  who  was  the  son  of  Noah,  and  they 
call  their  country  Haiasdan  after  the  patriarchal  progenitor  of  their  people.1 
Haic  dwelt  in  the  plain  of  Shinar  and  was  a  prefect  or  director  in  the  build- 
ing of  the  tower  of  Babel.  He  was  beautiful  as  a  god  and  strong  as  a  giant, 
mighty  in  battle  and  especially  adept  in  spear  throwing.  In  the  days 
of  his  youth,  Bel  or  Nimrod,  who  was  the  patron  god  of  Babylon,  estab- 
lished himself  over  all  and  wished  to  be  worshipped.  But  Haic  refused 
to  obey,  and  taking  his  sons,  who  numbered  about  three  hundred,  his 
daughters,  his  sheep  and  cattle,  he  journeyed  north  until  he  came  to 
the  land  of  Ararat.    Bel  tried  in  vain  to  persuade  his  rival  to  come  back. 

"Thou  hast  departed  and  hast  settled  in  a  chill  and  frosty  region," 
urged  the  Assyrian  god.  "Soften  thy  hard  pride,  change  thy  coldness  to 
geniality;  be  my  subject  and  come  and  live  a  life  of  ease  in  my  domain."2 

But  Haic  refused  the  cordial  invitation,  which  so  much  angered  Bel 
that  the  latter  brought  his  army  to  force  the  Armenian  hero  into  submis- 
sion. Haic,  however,  was  victorious,  for  he  slew  Bel  with  an  arrow  from 
his  own  bow.  The  place  where  Bel  was  buried  is  called  "Kerezman," 
meaning  grave,  and  is  pointed  out  to  this  day.  Armenians  sing  songs 
and  tell  stories  of  the  great  beauty  and  valor  of  Haic.  He  died  at  the  age 
of  four  hundred  in  about  2028  B.C.3 

This  oldest  of  Armenian  legends,  quaint  and  simple  as  it  is  in  account- 
ing for  the  beginnings  of  a  people,  savours  of  the  Old  Testament  and  is 
suggestive  of  the  Assyrian  invasion  which  took  place  about  the  ninth  cen- 
tury before  Christ.  It  is  significant  that  the  Armenians  refused  the  pro- 
tection of  Bel,  and  that  in  the  very  beginning  of  their  legendary  history, 
they  insisted  on  standing  frm  and  maintaining  their  independence,  for 
no  single  quality  is  more  characteristic  of  this  people  than  a  proud,  haughty, 
even  at  times  disdainful  independence.  It  is  also  suggestive  that  their 
patriarchal  hero  was  no  saint,  but  a  mighty  giant,  beautiful  as  he  was 
strong,  whose  greatest  pride  was  in  the  throwing  of  a  spear,  for  his  de- 
scendants have  not  been  a  peaceful  people.  To  be  sure,  they  were  the 
first  nation  to  be  converted  to  Christianity,  which  would  say  little  for 

1  Mar  Apas  Catina.    Langlois'  Collection  des  Histoires  de  VArmenie  1:16. 
'St.  Martin,  Me  moire  sur  VArmenie  1:281. 
8  Mar  Apas  Catina.     Langlois  1:15-18. 
Moses  of  Khorene.     Langlois  3:63-64. 


10  LOUIS   A.    BOETTIGER 

their  firmness  and  independence,  were  it  not  that  the  priest  with  the  cross 
was  followed  by  a  powerful  king  with  a  sword  at  the  head  of  an  army 
that  had  learned  to  f  ght  as  the  Romans  fought.4  The  songs  that  were 
sung  in  memory  and  honor  of  Haic  are  seldom  sung  to-day  unless  it  be  in 
some  remote  village  where  the  civilization  of  the  Turk  has  not  yet  pressed, 
and  there  are  few  such  villages  if  any.  For  many  of  them  breathe 
of  a  national  spirit  not  beseeming  a  subject  nation,  and  have  been  sup- 
pressed for  many  years. 

Section  2.     The  Legend  of  Ara  and  Semiramis 

Dating  back  to  the  Assyrian  invasion  which  took  place  during  the  seventh 
and  eighth  centuries  before  Christ,  one  of  the  oldest  of  Armenian  legends, 
that  of  Semiramis,  queen  of  Assyria,  and  Ara,  king  of  Armenia,  is  told.5 
Ara  was  very  beautiful,  and  Semiramis  having  heard  speech  of  his  beauty 
for  many  years,  wished  to  possess  him.  But  she  dared  do  nothing  for 
fear  of  Ninus,  protector  over  Armenia.  After  the  death  of  Ninus,  how- 
ever, the  queen  sent  messengers  to  Ara,  with  gifts  and  offerings,  with 
prayers  and  promises  of  riches,  begging  him  to  come  to  her  at  Nine- 
veh and  either  wed  her  and  reign  over  all  that  Ninus  had  possessed,  or 
fulfil  her  desire  and  return  in  peace  to  Armenia  with  many  gifts.  But 
when  the  messengers  had  been  turned  away  repeatedly,  Semiramis  be- 
came angry,  and  taking  her  army  she  hastened  to  Armenia.  The  battle 
was  fought  on  the  plain  of  Ara,  called  after  him  Ararat;  and  although 
the  queen  had  given  careful  orders  to  her  generals  to  devise  some  means 
of  saving  the  life  of  Ara,  the  Armenian  king  was  slain.  She  found  the 
dead  body  among  the  others  that  had  fallen,  and  ordered  her  servants 
to  place  it  in  an  upper  chamber  in  her  castle.  And  when  the  Armenian 
army  again  arose  to  drive  away  the  foe  and  avenge  the  death  of  Ara,  the 

*  St.  Martin  1 :306. 

*  Ibid.  1:282-3.     Moses  of  Khorene  2:67-69. 
Mar  Apas  Catina  1:26-27. 

The  first  Arsacidae  king  of  Armenia,  Valarsace,  whose  reign  began  in  149  B.C.  found  the  kingdom  in 
general  disorder  and  was  the  first  to  organize  the  country  along  national  lines.  As  a  Parthian  he  was 
unacquainted  with  the  history  and  institutions  of  the  people,  and  desiring  to  build  upon  the  established 
foundation,  such  as  it  was,  he  sent  a  Syrian  scholar.  Mar  Apas  Catina  by  name,  with  a  letter  to  his  brother, 
Arsace,  king  of  Persia,  requesting  the  latter  to  allow  the  Syrian  access  to  the  royal  archives  with  the  view 
of  finding  a  history  of  Armenia.  Mar  Apas  Catina  found  an  old  MS  containing  a  history  of  ancient  Armenia 
which  bore  the  name  of  no  author,  and  which  was  translated  from  Chaldean  to  Greek  by  order  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great.  It  was  translated  into  Syriac  by  the  Syrian  scholar  for  the  benefit  of  Valarsace,  but 
the  MS  has  been  lost,  and  there  is  not  the  slightest  trace  of  it  anywhere.  It  must  have  been  in  ex- 
istence however,  during  the  fifth  century  after  Christ  for  Moses  of  Khorene  used  it  as  his  only  source 
for  Armenia's  ancient  history,  in  writing  his  general  history  of  Armenia.  The  old  MS  being  lost,  the  trans- 
lation by  Mar  Apas  Catina  and  the  first  part  of  the  history  of  Moses  are  given  as  identical  to  each  other 
in  Langlois'  collection  of  Armenian  historians.  The  ancient  history  contains  the  legends  of  Haic,  of  Ara 
and  Semiramis,  and  of  Vahakn,  some  of  the  songs  of  heroes,  still  sung,  and  other  matter  which  is  strictly 
speaking  not  historical.  As  a  history,  therefore,  it  is  unreliable  and  unauthentic,  but  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  social  historian  it  is  invaluable,  for  a  belief  is  as  important  a  fact  to  sociology  as  the  dethronement 
of  a  king  is  to  history. 


ANCIENT  HISTORICAL   LEGENDS  11 

queen  said,  "I  have  commanded  the  gods  to  lick  his  wounds  and  he  shall 
live  again."  She  tried  to  bring  Ara  back  to  life  by  witchcraft  and  charms, 
but  the  body  began  to  decay  and  she  commanded  her  servants  to  cast 
the  corpse  into  a  deep  pit  and  to  cover  it.  And  having  dressed  up  one 
of  her  men  in  secret,  she  caused  the  following  proclamation  to  be  spread 
among  the  people:  "The  gods  have  licked  Ara  and  have  brought  him 
back  to  life  again,  thus  fulfilling  our  prayers  and  our  pleasures.  There- 
fore from  this  time  forth  shall  they  be  the  more  gloriHed  and  worshipped 
by  us,  for  they  are  the  givers  of  joy  and  the  fulfillers  of  desire."  And 
she  erected  a  statue  to  the  gods,  making  it  seem  as  though  they  had  brought 
Ara  back  to  life  again.  This  news  was  spread  over  all  the  country  of  Ar- 
menia, and  having  satisfied  the  people,  she  put  an  end  to  the  fighting. 
The  twelve-year-old  son  of  the  king  was  taken  by  the  Assyrian  queen 
and  appointed  ruler  over  Armenia.  She  called  him  Ara,  in  memory  of 
her  love  for  Ara  the  Beautiful. 

To  Semiramis  is  attributed  the  building  of  the  ancient  city  of  Van 
on  the  shores  of  the  beautiful  lake  of  Van,  where  she  made  her  summer 
residence  until  the  time  of  her  departure.6  She  might  well  have  lingered 
there,  for  the  Armenians  have  a  proverb,  "Van  in  this  world,  paradise 
in  the  next."  Nevertheless,  Semiramis  and  Ara  are  mythical  characters, 
although  the  latter  is  spoken  of  in  the  history  of  St.  Martin  as  having 
lived  along  about  1769  B.C.7  As  regards  the  popular  belief  in  the  legend, 
however,  there  is  not  the  slightest  doubt.  This  is  proved  by  the  fact  that 
even  to-day  the  city  is  called  "Sham-iram-agerd"  by  the  Armenians, 
meaning  the  city  of  Semiramis.  Lynch  says  that  Ara  and  Semiramis 
are  Tannuz  and  Istar,  the  Adonis  and  the  Aphrodite  of  the  Hellenic  myth, 
and  that  the  quest  of  the  Assyrian  queen  may  be  connected  with  the  in- 
troduction into  Armenia  of  the  worship  of  Istar  whose  name  is  mentioned 
in  one  of  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  at  Van.8  However,  the  results  of 
modern  scholarship  are  by  no  means  conclusive  on  this  point,  as  we  shall  see. 

Section  3.     Historical  Background  of  the  Legend  of 
Ara  and  Semiramis 

Moses*  history  was  read  by  St.  Martin  who  became  exceedingly  interested 
in  Van,  and  in  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  spoken  of.  It  was  due  to  him 
that  the  French  government  dispatched  a  mission  to  Armenia  in  1827, 
under  the  direction  of  a  young  German  Professor,  Friedrich  Edward  Schulz. 
Schulz  was  murdered  by  the  Kurds,  a  thing  which  rarely  happens  in 
Armenia,  and  his  work  was  left  incomplete.  He  had  succeeded,  how- 
ever, in  making  copies  of  forty-two  inscriptions,  which  were  published 

•  Boyadjian,  Armenian  Legends  and  Poetry  p.  33. 
'St.  Martin  1:409. 
•Lynch  2:65. 


12  LOUIS   A.    BOETTIGER 

in  1840,  and  proved  to  be  remarkably  accurate.  Shortly  afterward,  ori- 
entalists made  great  discoveries  in  the  Mesopotamian  valley,  but  the 
inscriptions  at  Van  did  not  tally  with  any  syllabaries  discovered  up  to 
that  time,  nor  could  they  be  translated  in  any  known  language.  A  num- 
ber of  them  were  found  to  be  Assyrian,  but  the  great  majority  were  pe- 
culiar to  Van,  and  entirely  baffled  the  students.  Not  until  1880  were 
they  finally  unravelled.  M.  S.  Guyard  discovered  at  that  time  that  the 
concluding  phrase  of  many  Vannic  texts  represented  an  imprecatory 
formula  found  in  exactly  the  same  place  in  Assyrian  counterparts.  This 
discovery  enabled  Professor  Sayce,  of  Oxford,  to  decipher  the  inscriptions 
at  a  rapid  rate. 

Among  the  important  facts  discovered  were  that  the  nation  was  a 
rival  nation  of  Assyria,  and  that  its  people  were  called  Khaldeans,  or  chil- 
dren of  Khaldis,  much  in  the  same  way  as  the  Assyrians  reflected  the 
name  of  their  god,  Assur.  The  country  was  a  theocracy  and  Khaldis  was 
supreme.  In  the  tablets,  his  wrath  was  invoked  against  whomever  should 
destroy  them.  The  capital  city  was  Dhuspus,  modern  Van,  which  is 
the  Disp,  or  Tsp  of  Armenian  writers,  and  the  Turuspa  of  Assyrian  an- 
nals. The  Assyrians  styled  the  kingdom  Urardhu,  or  Urarthu,  which 
is  the  name  appearing  in  the  Bible  in  the  familiar  form  Ararat. 

The  earliest  inscriptions  date  back  to  the  ninth  century  before  Christ, 
and  as  the  language  is  neither  Semitic  nor  Indo-European,  the  people 
could  neither  have  been  Assyrians  whose  language  was  Semitic,  nor  Ar- 
menians, whose  language  is  Indo-European.  The  first  mention  made 
of  Urardhu  was  in  the  reign  of  Ashur-Nazir-Pal  (885-860  B.C.)  whose 
successor,  Shalmanasar  II  (860-825  B.C.)  was  the  first  Assyrian  king  to 
invade  Armenia.9  Raffi,  however,  (the  son  of  the  famous  Armenian  poet) 
speaks  of  an  account  given  by  Assur-Nazir-Haban  (1882-1857  B.C.)  of 
one  of  his  victories.  "They"  (i.e.,  the  people  of  Ararat  or  Urarthu),  he 
said,  "fed  to  the  impregnable  mountains  so  that  I  might  not  be  able  to 
get  at  them,  for  the  mighty  summits  were  like  drawn  swords  pointing 
to  the  skies.  Only  the  birds  of  heaven  soaring  on  their  wings  could  reach 
them.  In  three  days  I  was  there  spreading  terror  in  places  where  they 
had  taken  refuge.  Their  corpses  like  autumn  leaves  filled  the  clefts.  The 
rest  escaped  to  distant  inaccessible  heights."10  This,  clearly,  is  a  much 
older  record  than  any  that  Lynch  found  trace  of,  and  although  Raffi  cites 
no  authority  for  the  quotation,  I  presume  that  it  has  been  taken  from 
a  recent  discovery.  If  this  be  true  the  Khaldeans  were  a  very  ancient 
people.  One  of  the  tablets  shows  that  King  Memas  was  the  principal 
author  of  the  magnificent  canal  which  conducts  the  water  of  the  river 

•  Lynch,  Armenia,  chapter  entitled  "Van." 
10  Raffi,  article  in  Boyadjian's  Armenian  Legends  and  Poetry  p.  125. 


ANCIENT   HISTORICAL   LEGENDS  13 

Khoshab  to  the  suburbs  of  Van,  and  which  is  to-day  called  "Shamiram- 
Su"  or  river  of  Semiramis.11  The  line  of  Vannic  kings  is  traceable  as  far 
down  as  644  B.C. 

Most  of  these  inscriptions  are  to  be  found  on  a  huge  isolated  rock, 
situated  in  the  curve  of  the  bay,  and  known  as  the  "rock  of  Van."12  Among 
them  are  inscriptions  left  by  Xerxes  (485  B.C.),  the  Persian  conqueror 
whose  father's  empire  (Darius,  521-486  B.C.)  succeeded  the  loose  Scythian 

rule. 

But  the  ancient  Khaldean  kingdom  had  already  vanished  when  Xerxes' 
victorious  army  overran  the  country,  for  shortly  after  the  great  influx 
of  Scythians  and  the  break-up  of  Assyria,  came  another  horde  from  the 
west,  perhaps  to  fill  up  the  void  left  by  the  Scythian  ravages.  It  is  at 
this  time  that  the  Armenian  people  are  first  heard  from,  and  it  is  this 
horde,  therefore,  that  is  regarded  as  the  foundation  stock  of  the  Armenian 
people.  They  seem  to  have  been  an  Indo-European  people  residing  in  the 
territory  north  of  the  Black  Sea,  for,  coming  from  the  west  they  must 
have  entered  Asia  from  Europe  by  crossing  the  straits.  The  ancient  Khal- 
deans  were  assimilated  to  some  extent,  but  for  the  most  part,  they  were 
driven  to  the  north  and  south,  where  they  have  left  traces  that  have  been 
recognized  and  recorded  by  Xenophon  and  Herodotus.13 

That  the  civilization  and  culture  of  the  ancient  Khaldeans  were  util- 
ized is  beyond  doubt.  Their  most  ancient  cities,  Van,  Armavir,  were 
foundations  of  Vannic  kings,  while  recently  it  has  been  disclosed  that 
the  city  of  Hajk,  southeast  of  Van,  shows  some  of  the  familiar  features 
of  a  Khaldean  settlement.  But  their  supreme  god  during  the  pre-Chris- 
tian era  was  not  Khaldis,  but  the  Persian  Ormuzd,  which  indicates  that 
the  Persians  exercised  an  even  greater  influence. 

How  then  could  Semiramis  ever  have  come  to  Van  in  quest  of  an  Arme- 
nian king,  since  it  seems  that  the  Scythians  had  already  conquered  As- 
syria before  the  great  influx  of  Armenian  hordes?  Nor  does  it  seem  that 
the  city  of  Van  was  built  by  the  Assyrian  queen,  for  the  inscriptions  make 
no  mention  of  her  name.  King  Memas  who,  in  the  view  of  Lynch,  con- 
structed the  famous  canal,  was  in  all  probability  the  author  of  the  garden 
city.  The  belief,  according  to  Lynch,  as  already  stated,  is  that  this  legend 
is  the  Armenian  version  of  the  old  Hellenic  myth  of  Aphrodite  and  Adonis, 
taken  over  during  the  domination  of  the  Seleucid  dynasty  which  followed 
the  conquest  of  Alexander  about  325  B.C.14 

But  this  is  unreasonable.  That  a  myth  should  be  taken  over  by  a  sub- 
ject people  and  the  characters  rechristened  is  not  difficult  to  understand, 

u  Lynch,  chapter  on  Van. 
u  Moses  of  Khorene  2 :69. 
« Ibid. 
"Lynch  2:65. 


14  LOUIS  A.    BOETTIGER 

but  that  the  name  of  one  of  them  should  be  applied  to  the  ancient 
city  is  very  improbable  to  say  the  least.  Furthermore,  the  legend  is  fla- 
vored rather  strongly  with  Persian  voluptuousness,  and  is  not  at  all  sug- 
gestive of  Greek  delicacy  and  refinement.  Nor  is  the  fact  that  the  horde 
overran  the  country  after  the  destruction  of  Assyria  in  any  way  conclu- 
sive, for  if  there  were  any  assimilation  at  all,  as  there  must  unquestionably 
have  been,  the  Khaldean  culture  and  history  was  to  that  extent  the  actual 
possession  of  the  Armenians.  Even  intermarriage  would  perhaps  be  un- 
necessary, for  what  Irishman  who  has  been  in  the  United  States  two  months 
does  not  speak  of  Benjamin  Franklin  and  George  Washington  as  his  fore- 
fathers ?  It  is  to  be  noted  also  that  to  this  day  the  canal  spoken  of  is  called 
"Shamiram-Su"  or  river  of  Semiramis,  by  all  Armenians.15  On  the  whole 
it  seems  to  me  conclusive,  therefore,  that  the  legend  of  Semiramis  and  Ara 
has  its  roots  in  Armenian  history,  and  is  not  at  all  a  version  of  the  Hellenic 
myth. 

Section  4.     The  Legend  of  Vahakn 

The  legend  of  Vahakn,  king  and  god  of  Armenians,  is  very  clearly 
attributable  to  the  Greek  period,  which  followed  the  Persian  conquest 
under  Xerxes.  Vahakn  was  deified  because  of  his  great  valor  and  made 
the  fire-god  of  the  Armenian  people.16  He  was  called  "Vishapakagh," 
uprooter  of  dragons,  since  he  cleared  Armenia  of  monsters  and  saved 
it  from  evil  influences.  His  exploits  were  known  in  the  abode  of  the  gods 
as  well  as  in  Armenia.  The  most  famous  of  them  was  the  theft  of  corn 
from  the  barns  of  King  Barsham  of  Assyria,  from  whom  he  ran  away  and 
tried  to  hide  in  heaven.  Because  of  the  ears  he  dropped  in  his  rapid  flight, 
there  arose  the  Milky  Way  which  is  called  in  Armenian  the  "track  of 
the  corn  stealer."17 

Moses  of  Khorene  writes  as  follows: 

Concerning  the  birth  of  this  king  the  legends  say, 
"Heaven  and  earth  were  in  travail, 
And  the  crimson  waters  were  in  travail, 
And  in  the  water,  the  crimson  reed 
Was  also  in  travail. 

From  the  mouth  of  the  reed  issued  smoke, 
From  the  mouth  of  the  reed  issued  flame, 
And  out  of  the  flame  sprang  the  young  child, 
His  hair  was  of  fire,  a  beard  had  he  of  flame, 
And  his  eyes  were  suns."18 

a  Moses  of  Khorene  2:68,  69. 

"St.  Martin  1:285. 

»  Raffi  p.  129.     Abeghian  pp.  49,  SO. 

18  Moses  of  Khorene  2:76.     Translation  from  Moses,  Boyadjian  p.  10. 
Mar  Apas  Catina  1 :40. 


ANCIENT   HISTORICAL   LEGENDS  15 

With  our  own  ears  did  we  hear  these  words  sung  to  the  accompaniment  of  the  harp. 
They  sing  moreover  that  he  did  fight  with  the  dragons,  and  overcame  them;  and 
some  say  that  his  valiant  deeds  were  like  unto  Hercules.  Others  declare  that  he  was 
a  god,  and  that  a  great  image  of  him  stood  in  the  land  of  Georgia,  where  it  was 
worshipped,  with  sacrifices.19 

The  wife  of  Vahakn  was  Astghik,  the  goddess  of  beauty,  a  person- 
ification of  the  moon,  corresponding  to  the  Phoenician  and  Sidonian 
Astarte.  This  is  suggestive  of  Greek  influence,  for  Venus,  the  Greek 
goddess  of  beauty,  was  also  the  wife  of  a  fire-god,  Vulcan.20 

The  flight  of  Vahakn  before  the  Assyrian  king  is  certainly  more  sug- 
gestive of  the  fear  in  which  the  Assyrians  must  have  been  regarded  than 
of  the  valor  of  their  god.  The  originators  of  the  legend  were  good  psy- 
chologists, however,  in  regarding  the  instincts  of  fear  and  of  pugnacity 
as  compatible.  For  even  the  slayer  of  demons  must  some  day  face  his 
superiors  in  strength,  and  when  he  does,  will  he  not  be  afraid?  In  fact 
he  would  be  more  afraid  than  another,  for  he  could  not  well  impute  more 
mercy  to  his  superior  than  he  himself  had  shown  to  his  inferiors. 

The  vein  of  humor  is  too  rich  to  be  left  unnoted.  If  the  Greeks  could 
laugh  at  their  gods,  and  even  mock  them,  the  Armenians  could  also  make 
sport  of  them.  For  what  could  be  more  delightfully  humorous  than  the 
picture  of  a  bearded  god,  a  slayer  of  dragons,  whose  hair  was  of  flame 
and  whose  eyes  like  suns,  stealing  corn  from  the  Assyrian  king  and  drop- 
ping the  ears  from  his  shoulders  in  his  hasty  flight  across  heaven?  The 
character  thus  brought  out,  together  with  the  richness  of  imaginative 
quality,  especially  in  the  song  of  his  birth,  the  wholesome  and  unveiled 
anthropomorphism  (wholesome  because  it  is  unveiled),  and  the  corre- 
spondence between  the  Greek  fire-god  Vulcan  whose  wife  was  Venus, 
the  goddess  of  beauty,  with  the  fire-god  Vahakn  whose  wife  Astghik  was 
also  goddess  of  beauty,  stamp  the  legend  with  its  unmistakable  origin 
in  Greek  mythology. 

Section  5.     The  Historic  Background  of  the 
Legend  of  Vahakn 

The  Greek  period  from  which  this  legend  dates  began  with  the  de- 
feat of  the  Armenian  king  Vahy,  who  was  overcome  by  Alexander  the 

'»  Mar  Apas  Catina  1:41.     Moses  of  Khorene  p.  76. 

Moses  of  Khorene,  called  the  Herodotus  of  Armenia,  has  written  the  best  known  history  of  the  Ar- 
menian people.  The  work  has  been  translated  into  Latin,  Italian,  French,  German,  and  Russian.  Moses 
lived  in  the  fifth  century,  two  centuries  after  the  conversion  of  the  nation  to  Christianity.  He  belonged 
to  the  second  order  of  translators  in  the  school  of  St.  Sahag  and  St.  Mesrob,  and  was  sent  to  Syria,  Egypt, 
Greece,  and  Rome  in  order  to  complete  his  studies.  Upon  returning  to  his  country  he  found  everything 
in  disorder.  St.  Sahag  and  St.  Mesrob  were  dead,  the  king  had  been  overthrown,  and  he  chose  the  life  of  soli- 
tude. Sometime  later  he  was  chosen  bishop  and  requested  by  an  Armenian  prince,  Sahag  Bagratide,  to 
write  a  history  of  his  country,  which  task  he  took  up  with  great  enthusiasm.  The  translation  of  Mar 
Apas  Catina  was  his  only  source  for  Armenian  ancient  history.  He  carefully  differentiates  hearsay  from 
fact,  never  fails  to  stamp  a  fable  or  legend  as  such,  and  generally  quotes  his  authorities  where  he  has  them. 
Considering  the  limitation  of  his  materials,  and  the  time  in  which  he  wrote,  Moses  wrote  a  really  remark- 
able book,  although  the  verdicts  of  a  few  critics  have  been  unfavorable. 

"  Raffi  p.  129. 


16  LOUIS   A.   BOETTICER 

Great  somewhere  about  328  B.C.21  The  Greeks  chose  their  own  repre- 
sentative to  rule  over  the  province,  who  at  the  time  of  Alexander's  death 
was  Seleucus.  Historians  have  taken  the  name  of  this  governor  to  indi- 
cate the  dynasty  of  Greek  supremacy  which  followed;  i.e.,  the  Seleucid 
dynasty.  _JJiis__method  of  the  Greeks  of  selecting  their  own  man  to  gov- 
ern a  subject  people,  which  was  of  course  in  pursuance  of  their  policy 
of  superimposing  their  own  culture  upon  all  subject  nations,  was  con- 
trary to  the  policy  of  the  Parthians,  Romans,  and  Persians,  who  allowed 
the  Armenians  to  maintain  their  national  independence  provided  they 
permitted  the  use  of  their  armies  and  duly  paid  their  taxes.  And  it  is 
this  policy  of  the  Greeks  that  accounts  for  the  fact  that  large  portions 
of  Greek  mythology  and  religion  were  taken  over  by  the  Armenians. 

Although  the  period  of  political  supremacy  was  short-lived,  the  in- 
fluence of  Greek  culture  continued  to  permeate  the  social  life  of  the  people 
through  the  reign  of  the  Arsacid  kings.22  In  246  B.C.  Arsaces,  a  Parthian, 
made  himself  master  of  the  Parthians,  Persians,  Medes,  Babylonians, 
and  lastly  Armenians.23  His  grandson,  Arsaces  the  Great,  conquered 
as  far  as  India,  and  after  seating  himself  securely  upon  the  throne  of  Per- 
sia, placed  his  brother  Valarsace  upon  the  Armenian  throne,  so  founding 
the  Persian  and  Armenian  Arsacid  dynasties  (150  B.C.).24  The  Persian 
Arsacidae  became  extinct  in  A.D.  226  when  they  were  overthrown  by 
the  Persian  Sasanidae,  whereas  the  Armenian  Arsacidae  line  continued 
up  until  A.D.  428,  when  the  Armenian  kingdom  was  divided  between 
Persia  and  Rome  by  Shapuh,  the  Persian  monarch,  and  Theodosius  II.25 
This  makes  a  period  of  578  years  (150  B.C.-A.D.  428)  during  which  Ar- 
menia was  governed  by  her  own  line  of  kings,  and  enjoyed  the  liberties 
of  national  independence.  To  be  sure  after  the  conquest  of  Lucullus 
and  Pompey  (66  B.C.)  Armenia  became  tributary  to  Rome,  but  the  right 
of  succession  remained  with  the  Armenian  royal  family,  even  during  Roman 
supremacy,  so  that  the  national  life  was  in  no  manner  interfered  with.26 

«  Lidgett.  An  Ancient  People.    St.  Martin  1:409.     Mar  Apas  Catina  p.  41. 

K  The  influence  of  Greek  culture  is  chiefly  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  pagan  divinities  were  Greek 
and  that  many  temples  were  erected  to  these  gods  and  goddesses  all  over  the  country.  (Agathange,  His- 
toire  du  Regne  de  Tiridate.  Langlois  1:164-70.)  Secondly,  there  were  formed  by  St.  Sahag  and  St.  Mesrob 
in  the  fifth  century  after  the  conversion  of  the  nation  to  Christianity,  schools  of  translators,  who  studied 
in  Greece,  Egypt,  and  Rome  and  whose  chief  works  were  translations  from  the  Greek.  With  the  con- 
version (301)  came  the  necessity  for  a  written  language,  the  characters  of  which  were  invented  by  St. 
Mesrob  in  404.  Thereupon  were  organized  the  schools  of  translators  whose  chief  study  of  necessity  was 
Greek,  and  whose  translations  and  original  works  have  given  to  the  fifth  century  the  title  of  "Golden 
Age  of  Armenian  Literature."    (Langlois  l:xxi-xxvi,  2:vii.) 

m  St.  Martin  1:288,  289.    Mar  Apas  Catina  1:41. 
Moses  of  Khorene  2:81. 

*  Ibid. 

*  Gibbon,  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  3:393. 
Moses  of  Khorene  2:155. 

»•  Ibid.  pp.  88,  89. 


ANCIENT  HISTORICAL   LEGENDS  17 

The  greatest  Armenian  king  of  the  Arsacidae  line  was  Tigranes  the  Great, 
who  extended  his  domains  by  conquest  and  established  himself  in  his 
capital,  Tigranacerta,  with  a  court  of  matchless  splendor.27  He  is  spoken 
of  by  historians  as  a  king  of  kings,  and  as  having  ruled  with  a  pomp,  splen- 
dor, and  pride  never  before  known.  Defeated  by  Pompey  within  the 
walls  of  his  own  capital  city,  his  kingdom  became  tributary  to  Rome. 

Section  6.     The  Period  of  National  Integration 

The  continuity  of  the  period  of  the  Armenian  Arsacidae  makes  it  the 
time  when  the  process  of  national  solidification  and  unification  was  car- 
ried out  to  the  point  that  made  Armenia  a  nation,  and  beyond  this  point. 
Raffi  asserts  that  the  introduction  of  Greek  culture  during  the  Arsacid 
dynasty  not  only  changed  the  religion  of  Armenians,  but  also  so  affected 
their  language  and  customs  that  they  became  different  from  the  Per- 
sians, which  is  proof  that  a  process  of  social  readjustment  was  going  on.28 
It  was  during  this  period  that  the  wandering  minstrels  spoken  of  by  Lan- 
glois  journeyed  from  one  end  of  the  nation  to  the  other,  singing  their  songs, 
repeating  the  national  legends,  relating  the  news  of  the  world  and  the 
court  gossip  which  probably  made  up  the  largest  portion  of  it. 

Les  chants  de  l'antique  Arm£nie  rappellent  principalement  desev6nements,  la  plu- 
part  heroiques  et  l£gendaires,  accomplis  a  des  6poques  tr£s  diffdrentes,  ce  qui  donne 
a  penser  qu'ils  ont  du  6tre  composes  a  diverses  reprises,  par  des  rhapsodes  dont  les 
noms  ne  nous  sont  point  parvenus.  Les  sujets  traites  dans  ces  chants  demontrent 
clairement  qu'ils  n'ont  £t£  inspires  ni  a  des  pretres  paiens,  ni  a  des  poetes  qui  auraient 
vecu  sous  leur  influence,  en  vue  d'etre  recites  dans  des  fetes  religieuses  ou  en  face 
des  autels.  Au  contraire.  on  reconnait  de  prime  abord  que  ces  chants  sont  l'oeuvre 
de  bardes  nationaux,  ayant  un  libre  acces  dans  les  palais  des  souverains  et  a  la  cour 
des  satrapes.  C'est  ce  qui  fait  supposer  que  ces  podmes  sont  peutetre  dus  a  des  m£ne- 
strels,  a  la  solde  des  rois  et  des  nobles  et  ayant  pour  emploi  de  celebrer  leurs  vertus 
et  leurs  prouesses.29 

This  is  putting  the  case  conservatively,  for  Moses  speaks  often  of  "les 
chantres"  and  "les  chants."  They  traveled  as  far  as  Persia  and  returned, 
for  it  is  related  by  the  Italian  Countess  Evelyn  Martinengo  how  a  wan- 
dering minstrel,  who  had  just  returned  from  that  country,  was  entertained 
by  an  Armenian  patriarchal  family  living  in  the  kind  of  underground 

"  St.  Martin  1:291.    Moses  of  Khorene  p.  88. 

2»  Raffi  p.  126. 

19  Langlois  1  :ix,  x.  These  songs  of  which  Moses  of  Khorene  very  frequently  speaks  are  classified  by 
Langlois  into  songs  of  the  first  order,  the  second  order,  and  the  third  order.  The  first  are  relative  to  the 
prowess  of  Armenian  kings  and  gods;  the  second  concern  a  long  series  of  military  exploits  accomplished 
against  the  Assyrians.  Medes,  and  Persians;  the  third  refer  especially  to  traditions  in  connection  with  the 
Assyrians.  The  birth-song  of  Vahakn  is  an  illustration  of  the  songs  of  the  first  order  (p.  x,  xi).  Flint 
in  his  History  of  the  Philosophy  of  History,  p.  42,  speaks  of  this  period  of  minstrelsy  as  necessarily  pre- 
ceding the  use  of  letters  everywhere.  "The  myth  and  legend  interest  primitive  man  more  than  real  fact. 
His  vision  is  more  largely  of  the  imagination  than  of  the  sense  of  judgment.  It  is  an  error  to  regard  the 
rude  minstrelsy  which  generally  preceded  the  use  of  letters  as  essentially  historical." 


18  LOUIS   A.    BOETTIGER 

habitation  described  in  the  beginning  of  this  thesis.30  No  one  was  ever 
more  welcome  than  the  minstrel.  He  was  assigned  to  the  guest  chamber 
usually  prepared  especially  for  him,  and  always  the  best  chamber  in  the 
household.  His  head  and  feet  were  washed  for  him  by  the  wife  of  the 
patriarch,  and  at  meal  time  all  the  delicacies  of  the  household  were  spread 
before  him.  All  guests  were  welcome,  but  no  guest  more  welcome  than 
the  minstrel.  They  must  have  listened  to  his  tales  in  a  kind  of  petrified 
awe,  and  heard  him  sing  his  songs  in  speechless  enjoyment. 

It  was  a  practice  among  the  minstrels  of  the  time  to  compete  with 
each  other  in  public,  and  it  is  related  how  two  minstrels  entertained  by 
a  Persian  prince  were  led  out  upon  an  open  grass  plot  and  seated,  one 
facing  the  other.  Five  thousand  people  made  a  circle  around  the  com- 
petitors while  the  rivals  contended  in  song  and  verse,  riddle  and  repartee. 
Each  began  where  the  other  left  off,  until  finally  one  failed  to  perceive 
the  drift  of  his  adversary,  and  answering  at  random,  the  spectators  pro- 
claimed him  beaten.  The  triumphant  bard  was  led  to  the  vanquished, 
whose  lyre  was  taken  from  him  and  broken.  Robed  in  a  prince's  mantle, 
the  victor  was  taken  to  the  highest  seat  in  the  banquet  hall. 

That  the  people  were  the  judges  of  the  contest,  indicates  how  well  they 
must  have  been  acquainted  with  the  current  folk-songs,  legends,  and 
tradition.  How  generally  and  frequently  the  custom  of  minstrel  compe- 
tition was  practiced  throughout  Armenia  is  not  known,  but  it  certainly 
is  proof,  besides  Moses'  own  statements  to  the  same  effect,  that  the  nation- 
al legends  and  folk-songs  were  the  possession  of  the  common  people.  And 
what  is  more  important,  this  same  body  of  legends,  folk-songs,  and  tra- 
dition did  more  than  any  other  one  thing  to  weld  the  sentiments  of  the 
people  into  a  single  national  sentiment,  which  crystallized  into  a  real  pa- 
triotism, a  real  loyalty  and  devotion  to  any  cause  that  was  a  national  cause, 
because  it  was  the  natural,  spontaneous  expression  of  the  life  and  thought 
of  the  people,  and  no  mean,  artificial  thing  superimposed  from  outside.31 

There  are  other  reasons  for  giving  this  period  the  social  importance 
that  I  have  ascribed  to  it.  The  conversion  of  the  people  to  Christianity 
about  the  third  century  after  Christ  was  achieved  in  no  sentimental  fashion, 
but,  as  I  believe,  in  a  manner  in  which  it  alone  could  have  been  done, 
namely,  at  the  point  of  the  sword  of  their  own  king,  Tiridates,  who  was 
converted  from  paganism  to  Christianity  by  Gregory  the  Illuminator. 
The  traditions  in  connection  with  this  important  event  will  be  told  later. 
Suffice  it  to  say  at  this  point  that  the  whole  process  of  conversion  was 
carried  out  so  thoroughly  and  completely,  that  it  may  be  described  as 
a  national  volte-face,  and  therefore  did  not  result  in  the  disintegration, 

,0  Countess  Evelyn  Martinengo  Cesaresco,  Essays  in  the  Study  of  Folk-Songs,  chapter  on  Armenia. 
31  The  battle  of  Avarair  under  the  leadership  of  the  celebrated  Vartan,  where  Armenia  defended  her 
national  ideals  against  the  intrusion  of  Persia,  is  proof  of  this. 


ANCIENT  HISTORICAL   LEGENDS  19 

civil  strife,  and  social  chaos  that  would  unquestionably  have  been  the 
result  had  the  process  been  carried  out  by  means  of  peaceful  penetration 
and  propaganda. 

The  third  and  last  argument  in  support  of  the  social  and  national 
importance  of  the  period  of  the  Arsacid  kings  is  in  respect  to  the  alpha- 
bet which  was  compiled  by  St.  Mesrob  Maschtotz.  St.  Mesrob  was  a 
former  secretary  of  the  king,  and  desired  to  extirpate  the  last  remnants 
of  paganism  in  the  province  of  Akoulis,  but  in  the  absence  of  an  alpha- 
bet he  was  unable  to  carry  out  any  scheme  of  propaganda.  He  there- 
fore besought  the  king,  Vramschapouh,  to  put  an  end  to  this  state  of  things 
and  the  latter,  in  response  to  the  request,  placed  all  available  material 
at  the  disposal  of  the  saint.  The  task  was  accomplished  in  404,  some- 
what at  the  expense  of  the  future  devotees  of  the  language,  for  the  alpha- 
bet contains  thirty-eight  letters.32  Nevertheless,  most  of  the  sounds  of 
foreign  languages  were  represented,  making  it  particularly  useful  as  a 
foundation  language  for  other  languages.  St.  Mesrob,  with  a  body  of 
translators  trained  by  himself  and  St.  Sahak,  then  proceeded  to  the  trans- 
lation of  the  Bible,  which  was  not  completed  until  433.  Liturgies  and 
song-books  quickly  followed.  To  be  sure  the  effect  of  the  invention  of 
the  alphabet  and  the  distribution  of  the  various  religious  publications 
that  followed  were  not  felt  during  the  period  of  the  Arsacidae,  for  the  Bible 
was  not  published  until  after  the  break-up  of  the  kingdom  in  428,  when 
it  was  divided  between  Persia  and  Rome.  But  the  important  point  is 
that  the  time  had  come  when  the  need  for  an  alphabet  was  making  it- 
self very  strongly  felt,  and  this  could  not  have  been  true  of  a  diversified, 
heterogeneous  population. 

For  the  three  reasons  above  mentioned,  i.e.,  first,  the  work  of  minstrels, 
second,  the  Christianizing  of  the  nation,  and  third,  the  invention  of  the 
alphabet,  all  occurring  during  the  successive  reigns  of  the  Arsacid  kings, 
I  should  ascribe  to  this  period  (150  B.C.-A.D.  428)  the  integration  of 
the  Armenian  people  into  a  national  unit.33  Christianity  must  have  come 
as  a  disrupting  force,  as  a  terrible  shock,  necessitating  a  complete  social 
readjustment,  but  the  fact  that  the  readjustment  was  made  shows  that 
the  people  were  ready  for  it.  For  better  or  for  worse  the  yoke  of  Chris- 
tianity was  fastened  to  the  neck  of  the  people,  and  with  it  they  had  to 

"  Ormanian  p.  22.     Moses  of  Khorene  p.  158. 

"  There  are  further  proofs  that  may  be  cited.  The  history  of  English  and  French  literature  shows 
that  the  golden  age  of  their  literature  followed  a  period  of  social  integration  along  national  lines.  And 
it  is  true  that  the  golden  age  of  Armenian  literature  dawned  with  the  closing  decades  of  the  Arsacidae 
dynasty,  and  continued  several  decades  beyond.  And  finally,  when  Valarsace,  the  first  Arsacidae,  as- 
cended the  throne  of  Armenia,  finding  everything  in  a  state  of  disorder,  he  organized  the  country  along 
national  lines.  Dividing  the  kingdom  into  provinces  he  placed  his  governors  at  the  heads  of  them;  he 
organized  a  standing  army,  appointed  guardians  of  the  granaries,  established  courts  of  justice,  a  royal 
guard,  and  minutely  regulated  court  life.  What  is  most  interesting  is  that  he  appointed  two  reporters, 
one  to  remind  him  in  his  anger,  "le  bien  a  faire,"  the  other  to  remind  him  of  the  necessity  for  doing  justice. 
Ibid.  pp.  82-85. 


20  LOUIS  A.   BOETTICER 

replow  the  social  soil.  The  job  was  a  good  one,  for  the  Armenian  church 
has  been  the  chief  power  during  the  last  ten  or  fifteen  centuries  in  keep- 
ing alive  the  streams  of  national  life,  and  in  holding  the  people  together 
in  the  face  of  invasion  and  repeated  attempts  at  proselytization  by  the  Per- 
sians and  by  the  Greek  and  Roman  Catholic  churches. 

Section  7.     Legends  op  Artasches  and  Artavasd 

The  legends  of  Artasches  and  Satenik,  and  of  Artavasd,  the  son  of 
Artasches,  belong  to  the  Arsacid  period,  for  Artavasd  and  Artasches  are 
Armenian  kings  of  the  Arsacid  dynasty,  according  to  Moses.34  The  Alans 
who,  according  to  the  legend,  were  a  neighboring  people  residing  in  the 
mountain  region  in  the  vicinity  of  Georgia,  spread  themselves  over  Ar- 
menia while  Artasches,  the  Armenian  king,  collected  a  great  army  and 
forced  the  Alans  to  retreat  across  the  river  Kur  where  they  pitched  camp. 
The  son  of  the  Alan  king  was  taken  captive  and  brought  to  Artasches, 
which  forced  the  former  to  seek  peace  on  whatever  terms  the  Armenian 
king  might  wish,  provided  only  his  son  was  returned  in  safety.  But  Ar- 
tasches refused,  whereupon  the  sister  of  the  captured  boy  came  to  the 
river  bank,  and  standing  upon  a  great  rock  spoke  to  the  camp  of  Artas- 
ches by  means  of  interpreters  saying:  "Oh  brave  Artasches,  who  hast 
vanquished  the  great  nation  of  Alans,  unto  thee  I  speak.  Come,  hearken 
unto  the  bright-eyed  daughter  of  the  Alan  king  and  give  back  the  youth. 
For  it  is  not  the  way  of  heroes  to  destroy  life  at  the  root,  nor  for  the  sake 
of  humbling  and  enslaving  a  hostage  to  establish  everlasting  enmity  be- 
tween two  great  nations."35  Artasches,  having  heard  of  these  sayings 
went  to  the  river  bank  and  having  seen  that  the  girl  was  beautiful,  and 
listened  to  her  words  of  wisdom,  wished  to  marry  her.  His  chamberlain 
considered  it  a  wise  stroke  of  policy,  and  therefore  went  to  the  Alan  king, 
soliciting  the  hand  of  the  princess  for  his  master,  whose  oaths  and  assur- 
ances of  peace  he  vouched  for,  together  with  the  promise  to  return 
the  boy.  The  king  of  the  Alans  answered,  "From  whence  shall  brave  Ar- 
tasches give  thousands  upon  thousands,  and  ten  thousands  upon  tens 
of  thousands  in  return  for  the  maiden?" 

Writes  Moses: 

Concerning  this,  the  poets  of  that  land  sing  in  their  songs: 
"Brave  King  Artasches 
Mounted  his  fine  black  charger, 
And  took  the  red  leathern  cord 
With  the  golden  ring. 
Like  a  swift  winged  eagle 
He  passed  over  the  river 
And  cast  the  golden  ring 
Round  the  waist  of  the  Alan  Princess; 

»<  St.  Martin  1:300.     Moses  of  Khorenc  pp.  105-6. 
"  Ibid.  p.  106. 


ANCIENT  HISTORICAL   LEGENDS  21 

Causing  much  pain  to  the  tender  maiden 
As  he  bore  her  swiftly  back  to  his  camp." 
Which  being  interpreted  meaneth  that  he  was  commanded  to  give  much  gold,  leather, 
and  crimson  dye  in  exchange  for  the  maiden.    So  also  they  sing  of  the  wedding: 
"It  rained  showers  of  gold  when  Artasches  became  a  bridegroom, 
It  rained  pearls  when  Satenik  became  a  bride." 
For  it  was  the  custom  of  our  kings  to  scatter  coins  amongst  the  people   when  they 
arrived  at  the  doors  of  the  temple  for  their  wedding,  as  also  for  the  queens  to  scat- 
ter pearls  in  their  bride-chamber.38 

The  couplet  quoted  is  still  sung  by  the  Armenians,  and  it  is  still  cus- 
tomary for  the  bridegroom  to  scatter  money  on  his  way  to  the  church, 
and  though  it  may  be  for  queens  to  scatter  pearls,  the  Armenian  bride 
is  not  to  be  outdone.  She  is  given  a  partly  opened  pomegranate  which 
she  throws  at  the  door  of  the  bridegroom  upon  the  arrival  at  the  bride- 
groom's home  after  the  ceremony  at  the  church,  the  bits  of  pomegranate 
scattering  themselves  about  as  pearls. 

After  fifty-one  years  of  a  very  prosperous  reign,  Artasches,  who  was 
very  much  beloved  by  his  people,  died.  The  funeral  procession  was  a  most 
magnificent  one,  and  many  of  the  people  killed  themselves,  out  of  love 
for  their  dead  king,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  time.  And  when  the 
body  was  laid  in  the  grave  they  threw  precious  jewels,  gold,  and  silver  after  it. 
Nor  did  the  lamenting  and  suicide  stop  after  his  burial,  for  upon  the  grave 
of  their  dead  king  the  nobles  and  the  people  continued  to  kill  themselves. 
So  great  was  the  slaughter  that  Artavasd,  son  of  Artasches,  and  king 
after  his  father's  death,  addressed  the  spirit  of  his  dead  father,  saying, 
"Behold,  thou  art  taking  all  with  thee;  dost  thou  leave  me  to  rule  over 
ruins  and  the  dead?"  The  words  given  by  Moses  of  Khorene  are:  "Now 
that  thou  art  gone,  and  hast  taken  with  thee  the  whole  land,  how  shall 
I  reign  over  the  ruins?"37  Whereupon  the  spirit  of  Artasches  cursed  him 
and  said, 

"When  thou  ridest  forth  to  hunt 

Over  the  free  heights  of  Ararat, 

The  strong  ones  shall  have  thee, 

And  shall  take  thee  up 

On  to  the  free  heights  of  Ararat. 

There  shalt  thou  abide, 

And  never  more  see  the  light."38 

»•  Boyadjian  p.  49.  Moses  of  Khorene  p.  106.  Moses  as  translated  by  Langlois,  relates  the  story 
as  legend,  for  after  telling  the  tale,  and  quoting  the  songs  he  writes,  "Void  maintenant  le  fait  dans  toute 
sa  verite'  comme  le  cuir  rouge  est  tres-estime  chez  les  Mains,  Artasches  donne  beaucoup  de  peaux  de  cette 
couleur,  et  beaucoup  d'or  en  dot,  et  il  obtient  la  jeune  princesse  Satenig.  C'est  la  la  laniere  de  cuir  rouge 
garnie  d'anneaux  d'or.    Ainsi  dans  les  noces,  ils  chantent  des  legendes,  en  disant, 

'Une  pluie  d'or  tombait 
Au  marriage  d'ArtaschSs; 
Les  perles  pleuvait 
Aux  noces  de  Satenig.'  " 
Moses  likewise  relegates  the  legend  and  songs  of  Artavasd  to  their  proper  places. 
37  Moses  of  Khorene  p.  111. 
•8  Translation  from  Moses  by  Boyadjian  p.  65. 


22  LOUIS  A.    BOETTIGER 

These  words  together  with  those  of  Artavasd  spoken  to  his  father's  spirit 
were  sung  by  the  singers  of  the  time.39 

One  day  while  out  hunting  Artavasd  was  seized  by  some  visionary 
terror  and  lost  his  reason.  Urging  his  horse  down  a  steep  bank  he  fell 
into  a  chasm  where  he  sank  and  disappeared.  Old  women  told  how  he 
was  confined  in  a  cavern  and  bound  with  iron  chains  which  his  two  dogs 
gnawed  at  daily  in  order  to  set  him  free.  But  somehow  at  the  sound  of 
the  hammers  striking  on  the  anvils,  the  chains  were  continually  strength- 
ened, and  it  was  customary  among  the  blacksmiths  of  the  time  to  strike 
the  anvil  three  or  four  times  to  strengthen,  as  they  said,  the  chains  of 
Artavasd.  And  so  the  tradition  was  kept  up  by  singers  and  blacksmiths; 
the  blacksmiths  and  old  women  having  consigned  the  jealous  king  to  the 
world's  nethermost  regions,  while  the  singers  left  him  to  the  solitude  of 
Ararat  in  accordance  with  the  curse  of  Artasches. 

Section  8.     Conclusions 

Such  are  the  ancient  legends  of  Armenia,  in  their  respective  histor- 
ical settings:  the  legends  of  Haic,  of  Semiramis  and  Ara,  of  Vahakn, 
of  Artasches  and  Satenik,  and  of  Artavasd.  All  of  them  antedate  the 
Christian  era,  and  some  of  them  by  many  centuries.  Each  one  of  them 
is  told  by  Moses  of  Khorene.  But  as  to  origin  and  probable  historic  roots 
Moses  was  silent,  for  he  was  writing  a  history.  He  constantly  laments 
the  absolute  dearth  of  material  and  sources  and  begins  his  accounts  of 
these  legends  with  the  words  "This  is  as  it  is  told,"  or  "the  singers  say," 
indicating  that  his  only  sources  for  them  were  the  songs  and  reports  cur- 
rent among  the  people  during  his  own  time.  The  legends  of  Haic  and  of 
Semiramis  and  Ara  are  told  by  Moses  as  though  he  believed  them  his- 
toric fact,  but  of  course  Moses  had  no  materials  to  serve  as  a  basis  of  crit- 
icism. He  is  careful  to  quote  Mar  Apas  Catina  as  his  only  source  for 
this  material.  The  other  three  legends  are  regarded  as  such.  Artavasd 
is  spoken  of  as  an  historical  king  who  lost  his  reason  while  riding  horse- 
back and  fell  into  a  deep  chasm.  The  practice  of  suicide  at  the  death 
of  Artasches,  his  father,  was  a  pagan  custom.  The  curse  of  the  spirit  of 
the  dead  father,  the  chains,  the  dogs,  and  the  anvils  were  of  course  recog- 
nized as  the  work  of  ingenious  fancy.  In  view  therefore,  of  the  question- 
able character  of  Moses'  sources  these  legends  have  very  little  historic 
value.  They  do,  however,  have  a  high  social  value  inasmuch  as  the  com- 
mon knowledge  of  them  among  the  people  was  the  only  ultimate  source 
at  the  disposal  of  the  historian. 

The  second  conclusion  is  that  these  legends  formed  a  very  impor- 
tant part  of  the  larger  mass  of  tradition  and  songs  that  served  to  cement 

'•  Moses  of  Khorene  p.  111. 


ANCIENT   HISTORICAL    LEGENDS  23 

the  people  into  a  nation.  Just  how  important,  it  would  be  difficult  to  say, 
but  the  fact  that  they  were  current  at  the  time  Moses  wrote  indicates 
that  they  were  current  and  passed  on  from  generation  to  generation  dur- 
ing the  whole  period  of  the  Arsacidae  kings.  And  as  the  people  had  no 
alphabet  during  this  whole  period,  they  must  have  been  passed  on  by  song 
and  word  of  mouth.  This  was  a  time  of  special  activity  on  the  part  of  the 
minstrels  and  singers,  and  therefore  the  development  of  the  national  con- 
sciousness characteristic  of  the  period  must  have  been  brought  about 
in  a  large  measure  through  the  medium  of  these  legendary  beliefs. 

Furthermore  these  legends  are  known  by  the  Armenian  people  to- 
day and  are  taught  in  the  schools  that  are  not  too  severely  under  the  rules 
of  Turkish  and  Russian  censorship.  Naturally  enough,  they  are  a  source 
of  great  pride  since  they  breathe  national  independence  and  loyalty.  But 
of  course,  the  Turks  and  Russians  have  suppressed  all  public  singing  of 
songs,  and  public  teaching  of  history  and  legend  that  may  possibly  be 
construed  as  partaking  of  the  national  spirit. 

It  may  be  argued  that  these  legends  slumbered  between  the  covers 
of  Moses'  history  during  the  centuries  known  as  the  dark  ages,  and  that 
they  had  no  social  value  until  the  contagion  of  the  European  spirit  of 
the  Renaissance  awoke  the  legends  and  the  people  at  the  same  time.  But 
the  mere  dearth  of  record  is  no  proof  of  this  Rip  Van  Winkle  theory.  There 
is  at  least  one  reliable  authority  sufficient  to  disprove  it,  viz.,  Grigor  Ma- 
gistros,  a  scholar  of  the  eleventh  century  who  wrote  that  he  heard  the  Ar- 
tasches  epic  sung  by  minstrels.40  Besides  the  unreasonableness  of  the 
supposition,  there  is  the  added  fact  of  an  independent  Armenian  king- 
dom known  as  the  Bagradouni  dynasty,  whose  capital  seat  was  at  the 
famous  city  of  Ani.  This  kingdom  included  greater  Armenia  and  con- 
tinued from  A.D.  887  to  1079.41  But  1079  does  not  mark  the  end  of  Ar- 
menian independence  though  it  marks  the  destruction  of  Ani,  for  Reu- 
ben, a  member  of  the  royal  family,  made  his  way  into  Cilicia  in  the  year 
1080,  and  rallying  a  handful  of  Armenians  about  him,  overpowered  the 
Greeks  and  founded  what  is  known  as  the  Rupenian  Kingdom  of  Cilicia, 
which  continued  during  a  period  of  300  years.  So  that  here  again  is  a 
period  of  very  nearly  five  hundred  years  (889-1380),  during  which  time 
the  Armenian  people  enjoyed  national  political  independence.42  And 
this  during  the  very  period  of  the  dark  ages,  about  which  we  know  so  little! 
We  could  not,  therefore,  for  a  moment  suppose  the  traditions  and  legends 
to  have  had  no  social  importance  during  these  centuries,  for  such  an  as- 
sumption would  be  in  flat  contradiction  to  the  witness  of  Grigor  Ma- 
gistros,  and  to  the  facts  of  Armenian  history. 

«°  Raffi  p.  42. 

41  St.  Martin  1  :appendix. 

«  Ibid. 


CHAPTER  III 

LEGENDS    OF    THE    CONVERSION    TO    CHRISTIANITY 

Section  1.     Pre-Christian  Mythology  and  Religion 

The  second  body  of  legends  which  I  wish  to  consider  is  chiefly  con- 
cerned with  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  the  country.  These, 
together  with  the  traditional  beliefs  centered  about  the  chief  geograph- 
ical feature  of  the  land,  Mt.  Ararat,  constitute  a  group  bearing  a  very 
distinct  religious  stamp.  For  this  reason,  and  also  because  they  have  a 
later  origin,  they  are  to  be  marked  off  very  distinctly  from  those  already 
taken  up.  In  view  of  their  religious  bearing  I  shall  introduce  them  with 
a  brief  account  of  the  various  forms  of  pagan  worship  that  preceded  the 
Christianization  of  the  people. 

The  chief  religious  influences  have  been  the  Assyrian,  the  Persian, 
and  the  Greek.  It  seems,  however,  that  a  kind  of  monotheism  prevailed 
before  the  gods  of  any  of  these  were  taken  over.  The  very  ancient 
Armenian  kings  planted  groves  of  poplars  around  their  cities  and  the 
worship  was  carried  on  in  these  groves.1  An  altar  was  placed  among  the 
trees,  where  the  first  male  descendant  of  the  royal  family  (and  perhaps 
other  families)  offered  sacrifices  to  the  one  God,  while  the  priests  derived 
oracles  from  the  rustling  of  the  leaves.  Even  now  the  poplar  groves  are 
held  in  uncommon  regard.  This  is  a  survival  of  the  old  belief  that 
they  were  the  dwelling  place  of  God,  and  of  the  later  practice  of  consecrat- 
ing children  in  them.  The  belief  that  God  dwelt  among  the  leaves  must 
have  been  suggested  by  the  slightest  trembling  of  the  leaves,  even  at  the 
gentlest  breeze,  and  one  can  well  imagine  the  people  looking  up  at  them 
in  the  impressive  silence  of  the  forest  with  an  awe  and  wonder  no  other 
environment  could  possibly  induce.  The  Armenian  for  poplar,  "Sossi" 
is  used  to-day  as  a  name  for  girls,  and  the  poplar  tree,  although  not  held 
sacred  by  Armenian  people  to-day,  is  certainly  regarded  with  great  rev- 
erence.2 

The  influence  of  Persian  worship  is  more  clear.  Aramazd,  the 
architect  of  the  universe,  lord  and  creator  of  all  things,  was  the  chief 

»  Clark,  New  Englander  22:507.  672. 
Raffi  p.  127. 

2  That  trees  are  worshipped  even  to-day,  and  that  certain  superstitions  are  bound  up  with  them  is 
clearly  shown  by  Abeghian.  "In  den  Gegenden  Armeniens,  wo  das  Land  mit  Waldern  bedeckt  ist,  werden 
viele  sehr  alte  und  grosse  Baume  fur  heilig  gehalten  und  ahnlicher  Weise  wie  die  Quellen  verehrt.  -Man 
brennt  vor  ihnen  Lichter,  Weihrauch,  opfert  ihnen  Hahne  und  Hammel,  kvisst  sie,  kriecht  durch  ihren 
gespaltenen  Stamm  durch,  oder  lasst  magere  Kinder  durch  ihre  Locher  schlupfen,  um  die  Einwirkung 
der  bosen  Geister  aufzuheben.  Man  glaubt  dass  vom  Himmel  Lichter  auf  die  heiligen  Baume  kommen, 
oder  Heilige  sich  auf  denselben  aufhalten.  Auch  die  Baume  geben  Gesundheit,  einige  heilen  alle  Krank- 
heiten.  .  .  .  Um  von  Baumen  Heilung  zu  bekommen  soil  man  ein  Stuck  von  seiner  Kleidung  abreissen 
und  damit  den  Baum  umwickeln  oder  es  auf  den  Baum  nageln.  Man  glaubt  dadurch  seine  Krankheit 
auf  den  Baum  zu  ubertragen."    Abeghian  pp.  58,  59. 


LEGENDS   OF   THE    CONVERSION  25 

Armenian  god,  and  is  unquestionably  the  Persian  Ormuzd  named  in  the 
inscription  of  Xerxes  on  the  rock  of  Van.  Armenians  have  given  him  the 
title  of  "father  of  the  gods,"  and  the  qualifications  "great,  and  strong, 
creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  god  of  fertility  and  of  abundance."  7  he 
Greeks  identified  him  with  Zeus.3  There  were  numerous  sanctuaries 
erected  in  his  honor,  and  at  the  annual  festival  celebrated  in  his  name, 
white  animals,  especially  goats,  horses,  and  mules,  were  sacrificed  and 
their  blood  used  to  fill  silver  and  golden  goblets.4  Tir,  or  "Grogh"  mean- 
ing in  Armenian  "to  write"  was  his  attendant  spirit,  whose  chief  business 
it  was  to  watch  over  mankind,  recording  their  good  and  evil  deeds.5  Upon 
the  death  of  a  person  "Grogh"  conducted  the  soul  of  the  departed  before 
his  master,  who  opened  the  great  book,  and  balancing  the  good  and  evil 
deeds,  assigned  a  reward  or  punishment.  Grogh  is  also  the  personifi- 
cation of  hope  and  fear,  and  the  expression  "may  Grogh  take  you"  is 
still  very  commonly  used  among  the  people,  especially  by  servant  girls 
and  those  whose  language  has  not  undergone  the  purification  of  a  season 
of  "Sturm  und  Drang."  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  and  some  other 
expressions  owe  their  survival  to  usage  among  women  rather  than  among 
men,  which  is  not  difficult  of  explanation  when  one  considers  the  social 
restrictions  that  women  are  generally  subject  to.  "Viele  Seiten  des  alten 
heidnischen  Glaubens  sind  in  dem  heutigen  Volksglauben,  besonders  bei 
den  tiefer  stehenden  Volksschichten,  bei  alten  Bauerinnen,  als  iiberbleib- 
sel  der  Vergangenheit  erhalten."6 

The  god  Mihr  represented  fire,  and  was  the  son  of  Aramazd.7  He 
guided  heroes  in  battle,  and  was  commemorated  by  a  festival  held  in 
the  beginning  of  spring.  Fires  were  kindled  in  the  open  market  place 
in  his  honor,  and  a  lantern  lit  from  one  of  these  fires  was  kept  burning 
in  his  temple  throughout  the  year.8  It  is  still  a  festival  among  the  people, 
although  it  has  a  different  significance,  and  will  be  described  more  in  de- 
tail later  on.  This  is  practiced  not  only  by  the  Armenians,  but  also  by 
the  Syrian  Maronites  who  reside  in  4be  Lebanon.  I  have  seen  the  moun- 
tainsides literally  aglow  with  a  thousand  fires  in  celebration  of  a  Chris- 
tian festival  that  has  its  roots  in  the  pagan  ceremony  in  honor  of  Mihr. 
The  practice  of  a  continually  burning  lantern  was  also  carried  over  by 
some  branches  of  the  Christian  church. 

•  Agathangelus  p.  127.     Emin,  Recherches  sur  le  Paganisme  ArmSnien  p.  9. 
4  Raffi,  article  in  Boyadjian's  Armenian  Legends  and  Poetry. 

•  Tir  is  mentioned  only  once  by  Agathangelus  (p.  164)  and  he  is  not  mentioned  by  any  other  Armenian 
writers  (Langlois  1:164).  Emin  compares  him  to  the  Greek  Hermes  or  Mercury,  probably  because  Aga- 
thangelus speaks  of  him  as  the  recorder  or  reporter  of  Aramazd.     (Emin  p.  20,  note  1.) 

•  Abeghian  p.  4. 

7  He  corresponds  to  the  Persian  Mithra  and  is  hence  of  Persian  origin  and  not  Greek.  The  Greek 
translation  of  Agathangelus  regards  him  as  analagous  to  Vulcan,  which  Emin  considers  to  be  incorrect. 
(Agathangelus  p.  168;  Emin  p.  20.) 

•  Raffi,  article  in  Boyadjian's  Armenian  Legends  and  Poetry. 
Seklemian's  Tales.    Preface  by  Blackwell. 


26  LOUIS   A.    BOETTIGER 

Both  Persians  and  Armenians  were  worshippers  of  Mihr  (fire-worship), 
although  there  was  a  very  distinct  difference  between  the  two.  The  Ar- 
menian sacred  fire  was  invisible,  whereas  the  Persian  was  material  and 
kept  up  throughout  the  whole  year.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  Arme- 
nians called  the  Persians  fire-worshippers.  The  only  visible  fire-god  wor- 
shipped by  the  Armenians  was  the  sun,  to  which  temples  were  dedicated, 
and  after  which  the  Armenian  calendar  month  "Areg"  was  named.9  The 
"Children  of  the  Sun"  as  they  were  called,  offered  the  most  persistent 
opposition  to  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  and  a  community  of  them 
continued  their  worship  in  the  face  of  persecution  after  Christianity  be- 
came the  religion  of  the  state.  The  phrase  "let  me  die  for  your  sun," 
and  the  oath  "let  the  sun  of  my  son  be  witness,"  are  language  survivals 
of  this  particular  worship. 

The  Greek  worship,  introduced  first  during  the  Seleucid  dynasty, 
and  emphasized  and  encouraged  by  the  line  of  Arsacidae  kings  up  to  the 
introduction  of  Christianity,  exercised  an  even  stronger  influence  than 
the  Persian.  Many  of  the  Greek  divinities  were  rechristened  and  adopted 
by  the  people.  Chief  of  these  was  Anahit,  "Mother  of  Chastity,"  known 
also  as  the  "Pure  and  Spotless  Goddess,"  who  was  the  daughter  of  Aramazd, 
and  corresponded  to  the  Greek  Artemid  and  the  Roman  Diana.10  She 
was  also  regarded  as  the  benefactress  of  the  people.  Writes  Agathange- 
lus:  "Through  her  (Anahit)  the  Armenian  land  exists;  from  her  it  draws 
its  life,  she  is  the  glory  of  our  nation  and  its  protectress."11  Images 
and  shrines  were  dedicated  to  her  name  under  the  titles,  "The  Golden 
Mother,"  "The  Being  of  Golden  Birth."  A  summer  festival  was  celebrated 
in  her  honor  at  which  a  dove  and  a  rose  were  offered  to  her  golden  image. 
The  day  was  called  "Vartavar,"  meaning  "the  flaming  of  the  rose."  The 
temples  of  Anahit  and  the  golden  image  were  destroyed  with  the  conver- 
sion of  the  people  to  Christianity,  but  the  festival  has  continued  as  a  reg- 
ular church  festival  under  the  same  name  "Vartavar"  though  of  course 
with  a  different  meaning. 

The  second  and  third  daughters  of  Aramazd  were  Astghik,  the  god- 
dess of  beauty,  and  Nane,  or  Noone,  the  goddess  of  contrivance.12  The 
former  was  the  wife  of  Vahakn,  the  mythical  king-god,  the  legend  in  re- 
spect to  whom  has  been  told,  and  corresponded  to  the  Phoenician  and 

»  "Und  auch  heute  pflegt  man  stellenweise  niederzuknieen  und  zu  beten:  'O  du  gottliche  strahlende 
Sonnel     Dein  Fuss  ruhe  auf  meinem  Antlitzl  Bewahre  meine  Kinder.'"  u.  s.  w.    Abeghian  p.  43. 

10  Although  the  Greeks  have  identified  Anahit  with  their  goddess  of  chastity,  Artemid,  the  Armenian 
goddess  is  not  of  Greek,  but  of  Assyro-Baby Ionian  origin  according  to  Emin.  Her  name  "Anahato"  in 
ancient  Persian  means  "Spotless."    Agathangelus  p.  126;  Emin  p.  10. 

11  Agathangelus.     Langlois  1:127. 

"Raffi  p.  129. 
Both  Nane  and  Astghik  are  mentioned  by  Agathangelus  who  speaks  of  the  latter  as  the  Aphrodite  of 
the  Greeks.     (Agathangelus  p.  173.)    Emin  likens  Nane  to  Venus.    The  fact  is  that  very  little  is  known 
of  either.     (Agathangelus  p.  168;  Emin  p.  16.) 


LEGENDS   OF   THE    CONVERSION  27 

Sidonian  Astarte.  It  is  stated  by  Raffi  that  the  goddess  of  contrivance 
was  a  necessary  power  to  womankind,  for  then  as  now  woman  had  to 
make  big  things  out  of  small.  Sandaramet,  the  wife  of  Aramazd,  was 
an  invisible  goddess  and  personification  of  the  earth.  Her  master  sent 
rain  upon  her,  and  brought  forth  vegetation.  Later  she  became  the  syn- 
onym for  Hades.  Perhaps  the  best  summary  of  Armenian  worship  as 
existing  before  the  Christian  time  is  that  given  by  St.  Martin. 

La  religion  Arm^nienne  etait  probablement  un  melange  des  opinions  de  Zoro- 
astre,  fort  altered  par  le  cult  des  divinites  grecques.  On  voyait  dans  les  temples  de 
l'Arm^nie  un  grand  nombre  de  statues  de  divinit^s,  auxquelles  on  faisait  des  sac- 
rifices d'animaux,  ce  qui  ne  se  pratiquait  point  dans  la  religion  de  Zoroastre,  qui, 
a  proprement  parler,  n'admettait  pas  l'existence  d'autre  divinite'  que  le  temps  sans 
bornes,  appele"  Zerwan.13  Les  plus  puissants  des  dieux  6taient  Aramazd  (Ormuzd), 
Anahid  (Venus),  Mihir  (Mihr),  ou  Mithra.  On  y  adorait  encore  d'autres  divinit£s 
inferieures. 

Anahit,  however,  was  goddess  of  chastity,  and  did  not  therefore  corre- 
spond to  Venus.14 

Section  2.     Legends  of  Abgar,  Thaddeus,  and  St.  Bartholomew 

The  first  connection  that  Armenians  had  with  Christianity  occurred 
in  the  reign  of  King  Abgar,  whose  capital  was  at  Edessa  (now  Ourfa)  during 
the  time  of  Christ's  teaching  in  Palestine.15  The  story  is  legendary  and 
very  popular.  Abgar  was  called  a  great  man  because  of  his  exceeding  meek- 
ness and  wisdom.  As  the  result  of  several  severe  military  campaigns,  the 
health  of  the  king  began  to  give  way.  This  led  to  complications  which 
developed  into  a  very  painful  disease.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Abgar 
sent  two  of  his  messengers  to  the  Roman  governor,  Marinus,  to  show  the 
Roman  a  treaty  of  peace  that  had  been  made  between  Ardasches  and  his 
brother  of  Persia,  who  had  quarreled  and  had  been  reconciled  by  their 
kinsman  Abgar;  for  the  Romans  suspected  that  Abgar  had  gone  to  Persia 
in  order  to  collect  and  direct  a  Persian-Armenian  army  against  the  Romans.16 
To  clear  himself  of  all  suspicion,  therefore,  those  two  messengers  were  sent 
to  show  the  treaty  of  peace  to  the  Roman  governor.  On  their  return  the 
messengers  went  up  to  Jerusalem  in  order  to  see  Christ,  having  heard  of 
his  wonderful  deeds.  And  when  they  returned  to  their  king,  Abgar,  they 
told  of  the  works  of  Christ,  at  which  the  king  marveled,  and  believed  him 
to  be  the  very  Son  of  God.    The  king,  because  of  his  sickness,  sent  Christ 

»St.  Martin  1:305,  306. 

M  In  the  reigns  of  Artasches  I  and  Tigranes  II,  many  Greek  statues  were  imported  from  abroad,  and 
the  latter  king  not  only  constructed  temples  for  the  worship  of  Greek  divinities,  but  also  ordered  all  to 
offer  sacrifices  and  to  worship  newly  acquired  gods  and  goddesses.     (Moses  of  Khorene  pp.  86-88.) 

"St.  Martin  1:295. 

18  Moses  of  Khorene  p.  95. 


28  LOUIS  A.   BOETTIGER 

a  letter  asking  him  to  come  and  heal  him  of  his  disease.     The   letter  is 
quoted  as  follows: 

The  letter  of  Abgarus  to  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  "Abgarus,  a  prince  of  the 
world,  unto  Jesus  the  Saviour  and  Benefactor,  who  hast  appeared  in  the  City  of 
Jerusalem,  Greetings. 

"I  have  heard  of  thee,  and  of  the  healings  wrought  by  thy  hands,  without  drugs 
and  without  roots;  for  it  is  said  that  thou  givest  sight  to  the  blind,  thou  makest  the 
lame  to  walk,  and  thou  cleanest  the  lepers;  thou  curest  those  who  have  been  long 
tormented  by  diseases,  and  raisest  even  the  dead.  And  when  I  heard  all  this  con- 
cerning thee,  I  thought  that  either  thou  art  God  come  down  from  heaven  that  work- 
est  these  things,  or  the  Son  of  God.  I  have  written  unto  thee,  that  thou  shouldst 
trouble  thyself  to  come  unto  me,  and  heal  me  of  my  disease.  I  have  heard  also  that 
the  Jews  murmur  against  thee,  and  think  to  torture  thee.  My  city  is  a  small  one,. 
but  it  is  beautiful,  and  it  is  sufficient  for  us  twain."17 

The  messengers  delivered  the  message  to  Jesus  in  Jerusalem,  to  which 
the  gospel  bears  witness  in  the  words,  "There  were  some  amongst  the 
heathen  that  came  up  to  him."  But  Jesus  could  do  no  more  than  to  send 
a  letter  in  reply. 

The  answer  to  the  letter  of  Abgarus,  written  at  the  command  of  our  Saviour 
by  the  Apostle  Thomas:  "Blessed  is  he  who  believeth  on  me,  though  he  hath  not 
seen  me.  For  it  is  written  concerning  me  thus:  'they  that  have  seen  me  believed  not 
on  me,  but  they  that  have  not  seen  me  shall  believe  and  live.'  And  concerning  that 
which  thou  hast  written  unto  me  to  come  down  unto  thee,  it  is  needful  that  I  fulfill 
all  that  for  which  I  was  sent;  and  when  I  have  fulfilled  it  I  will  ascend  unto  Him 
that  sent  me.  And  after  my  ascension  I  will  send  one  of  my  disciples,  who  shall 
heal  thee  of  thy  disease,  and  give  life  unto  thee  and  unto  all  that  are  with  thee."18 

This  letter  was  duly  delivered  to  Abgar,  with  the  image  of  the  Saviour, 
which  was  still  kept  in  Edessa  at  the  time  of  Moses'  writing.  The  legend 
concerning  the  image  is  somewhat  as  follows.  One  of  the  three  messengers 
sent  to  Jesus  with  the  letter  of  Abgar  was  an  artist  who  was  told  to  paint 
a  portrait  of  Jesus  in  case  the  latter  found  it  impossible  to  take  the  jour- 
ney. The  artist  tried  in  vain  to  paint  a  good  picture,  and  having  noticed 
him,  Jesus  took  a  handkerchief  and  passing  it  over  his  face  a  most  exact 
likeness  was  stamped  upon  it,  which  he  gave  to  the  artist  to  be  given  to 
the  king. 

The  quaint  ending  of  Abgar's  letter  is  worth  the  whole  legend.  What 
could  be  simpler  or  more  seductive  than  the  invitation,  "My  city  is  a  small 
one,  but  it  is  beautiful,  and  it  is  sufficient  for  us  twain." 

The  tradition  of  the  Armenian  church,  or  the  Gregorian  church,  as 
it  is  more  commonly  called,  acknowledges  St.  Thaddeus  and  St.  Bar- 
tholomew as  the  original  founders,  who  are  therefore  designated  as  the 
first  illuminators  of  Armenia.19     Concerning  the  recognition  of  the  tradition 

17  Moses  of  Khorene  p.  96. 

is  Ibid. 

"  Ormanian  p.  3. 


LEGENDS   OF   THE    CONVERSION  29 

of  St.  Bartholomew,  which  includes  his  apostolic  journeys,  his  preach- 
ing, and  his  martyrdom  in  Armenia,  all  Christian  churches  are  unanimous. 
The  name  Albanus  given  as  the  place  of  his  martyrdom,  is  the  same  as  the 
name  Albacus,  hallowed  by  the  Armenian  tradition.  His  mission  covered 
a  period  of  sixteen  years  (A.D.  44-60).  There  is  difference  of  opinion, 
however,  in  regard  to  the  dates. 

The  traditions  about  St.  Thaddeus  vary.  Some  suppose  him  to  have 
been  the  brother  of  St.  Thomas,  and  according  to  these,  he  traveled  to 
Ardaze  by  way  of  Edessa.  There  is  an  anachronism,  however,  in  this 
tradition  which  would  transfer  the  mission  of  Thaddeus  to  the  second 
century.  According  to  a  second  tradition  he  is  not  the  brother  of  Thomas, 
but  one  St.  Judas  Thaddeus,  surnamed  Lebbeus,  who  also  is  said  to  have 
established  a  sanctuary  of  worship  at  Ardaze,  a  circumstance  admitted 
by  the  Greek  and  Latin  churches.  The  Armenian  church  places  the  time 
of  this  mission  as  a  period  of  eight  years  from  35-43.  That  this  has  been 
done  to  lay  a  strong  foundation  for  the  claim  of  apostolic  origin  may  be 
suspected,  especially  in  view  of  the  belief  that  apostolic  origin  is  essential 
to  every  Christian  church,  in  order,  as  stated  by  Ormanian,  "to  place 
her  in  union  with  her  Divine  Founder."  The  church,  however,  Has  us 
at  its  mercy,  for  conclusive  evidence  one  way  or  another  is  lacking.  Never- 
theless, the  fact  of  Thaddeus'  mission  to  Armenia  wherever  and  when- 
ever it  might  have  occurred,  is  undisputed.20 

The  matter  is  not  especially  important  except  to  theologians  with 
their  doctrines  of  "apostolic  origins."  What  is  perfectly  clear  is  that 
both  these  men  did  their  work  in  comparative  silence,  and  that  they  did 
not  make  very  much  headway,  for  if  they  had  there  would  have  been  less 
doubt  concerning  the  traditions.  The  great  work  was  done  by  King  Tir- 
idates,  and  Gregory,  who  converted  him  about  A.D.  301.  The  traditions 
concerning  these  men  are  among  the  most  cherished  possessions  of  the 
Armenian  church. 

Section  3.     Legends  of  Rhipsime  and  Gregory 

These  traditions  have  their  historical  setting  in  the  reign  of  Tiridates, 
and  of  Chosroes  the  father  of  Tiridates.21  Just  as  there  was  an  Arsacid 
dynasty  in  Armenia,  dating  and  originating  in  the  Parthian  conquests 
and  supremacy,  so  also  was  there  an  Arsacid  dynasty  of  Persia.  The  Per- 
sian king  at  the  time  of  Chosroes  was  a  kinsman  of  the  latter,  called 

*>  There  is  another  legend  of  St.  Thaddeus,  according  to  which  he  converted  Abgar  and  his  whole  court 
to  Christianity,  curing  the  king  of  his  disease  at  the  same  time.  (Moses  p.  97.)  Abgar,  who  died  short- 
ly afterward,  divided  his  kingdom  between  his  son  and  nephew.  The  former  at  once  resumed  the  pagan 
worship  while  the  latter  was  forced  to  apostatize.  But  the  preaching  and  martyrdom  of  St.  Thaddeu9 
at  the  hand  of  Sanatruk,  the  nephew,  is  recorded  by  Faustus  of  Byzantium,  one  of  the  most  reliable  of 
early  Armenian  historians.  (Faustus  of  Byzantium.  Langlois  1:210.  See  also  Lynch,  Armenia  1:278, 
and  Moses  of  Khorene  pp.  98-99.) 

"Lynch  1:286. 


30  LOUIS  A.   BOETTIGER 

Ardavan,  who  was  overthrown  (A.D.227)  by  a  Persian  prince  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Fars,  named  Ardashir.22  His  dynasty,  a  very  powerful  one,  known 
as  the  Sassanid  dynasty,  supplanted  the  Arsacid  dynasty  of  Persia.  Chos- 
roes  of  Armenia,  fearing  future  difficulty  with  the  new  Persian  monarch, 
ardently  supported  his  dethroned  kinsman.  The  next  year  (228),  there- 
fore, he  led  a  huge  army  beyond  the  frontiers  of  Persia,  and  laid  waste 
her  provinces  to  the  gates  of  Ctesiphon.23  The  war  was  continued  for 
ten  years,  during  which  time  the  Armenian  capital,  Vagharshapat,  was 
filled  with  the  booty  of  successful  raids.  The  reigning  Caesar,  Severus, 
also  alarmed  by  the  success  of  the  new  Persian  king,  headed  a  Roman  army 
against  Ardashir.  Realizing  the  jeopardy  of  his  position,  the  Persian 
resolved  to  put  Chosroes  out  of  the  way  by  whatever  means  possible. 
A  Parthian  of  the  royal  blood,  Anak  by  name,  consented  to  execute  his 
king's  desire,  and  went  with  his  family  to  Vagharshapat  as  a  refugee. 
A  friendship  sprang  up  between  himself  and  his  future  victim,  enabling 
him  to  execute  his  purpose,  which  he  did  in  company  with  his  brother 
while  preparation  was  being  made  for  a  spring  campaign.  But  the  mur- 
derers were  cut  off  in  their  escape  by  Armenian  horsemen  and  precipi- 
tated into  the  Araxes,  while  the  dying  king  gave  orders  to  massacre  the 
family  of  Anak.  Only  two  of  the  children  were  rescued,  one  of  whom 
was  Gregory,  the  Illuminator,  founder  of  the  Armenian  national  church, 
called  also  the  Gregorian  church.  The  child  Gregory  was  taken  to  Ces- 
area  where  he  was  educated  in  the  tenets  of  Christianity.24 

Ardashir  died  shortly  after  the  murder  of  his  foe,  and  thus  failed  to 
follow  up  his  advantage  except  for  a  few  raids  into  Armenian  territory. 
Tiridates,  a  child  at  this  time,  was  the  oldest  son  of  Chosroes,  and  as  heir 
to  the  Armenian  throne  was  the  chief  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  ambi- 
tions of  his  uncles,  whose  treatment  of  the  young  king  compelled  him  to 
take  refuge  in  Rome  where  he  was  educated.25  Having  distinguished 
himself  by  personal  bravery  in  a  Gothic  campaign,  his  nation's  domin- 
ions were  restored  to  him  by  the  support  of  a  Roman  army,  for  during 
his  absence  Armenia  was  invaded  by  Shapur,  the  successor  of  Ardashir. 
The  Persian  king  had  taken  advantage  of  the  disputes  of  Tiridates'  uncles. 
The  remainder  of  the  story  is  legendary. 

,  Gregory  had  been  informed  in  the  meantime  of  his  father's  deed,  and 
seeking  to  make  such  amends  for  it  as  he  could,  he  journeyed  to  Rome, 
where  he  attached  himself  as  a  servant  to  the  exiled  king,  Tiridates.  The 
latter,  after  his  victory  over  the  Persians  and  his  re-accession  to  the 

m  St.  Martin  pp.  302,  303. 

*»  Agathangelus.     Langlois  1:115. 

m  St.  Martin  p.  303. 

Agathangelus  p.  122. 
*  St.  Martin  p.  304.    Agathangelus  p.  121. 


LEGENDS   OF   THE    CONVERSION  31 

Armenian  throne,  entered  the  temple  of  Anahit  in  company  with  his  faith- 
ful servant  Gregory,  to  offer  sacrifices  of  thanksgiving.  A  feast  followed 
the  ceremony,  at  which  many  guests  were  present,  and  Tiridates,  who 
must  have  known  of  Gregory's  attachment  to  Christianity,  commanded 
the  latter  to  make  an  offering  of  garlands  to  the  great  goddess.  Gregory  re- 
fused. The  king  was  angry.  "How  dare  you,"  exclaimed  the  king,  "adore 
a  god  whom  I  do  not  adore?"  Persuasion  and  finally  torture  were  used 
to  coerce  the  pious  and  firm-minded  youth,  but  to  no  avail.  In  the  mean- 
time, Tiridates  had  been  informed  as  to  Gregory's  identity,  i.e.,  that 
he  was  the  son  of  his  father's  murderer,  whereupon  the  king  commanded 
that  Gregory  be  cast  into  a  deep  pit  where  he  was  left  to  perish.26 

For  thirteen  years  Gregory  languished  in  his  well,  and  was  only  saved 
from  death  by  the  ministrations  of  a  widow  who  resided  in  the  castle  of 
Artaxata  just  by  the  pit.  This  was  done  in  great  secret,  for  Tiridates 
had  issued  an  edict  which  admonished  his  subjects  to  beware  of  the  re- 
sentment of  the  gods,  of  Aramazd,  Anahit,  and  Vahakn,  and  following 
the  practice  of  the  Romans,  to  lay  hands  on  all  offenders  against  the  gods, 
chief  of  whom,  evidently,  were  the  Christians.  They  were  to  be  bound 
hand  and  foot,  brought  before  the  gate  of  the  palace,  and  if  found  guilty 
their  lands  and  chattels  were  assigned  to  their  accusers.27 

While  Christians  were  being  robbed,  and  Gregory  was  slowly  perish- 
ing of  misery  in  his  prison  well,  there  arrived  at  Vagharshapat  a  Roman 
virgin  of  exquisite  beauty,  named  Rhipsime,  in  company  with  her  nurse 
Gaiane,  and  thirty-three  followers  who  were  also  virgins.  They  had  fled 
from  the  Emperor  Diocletian,  who  had  selected  Rhipsime  for  his  spouse, 
after  a  most  careful  search  of  his  kingdom  for  the  most  beautiful  of  wo- 
men.28 Rhipsime,  unfortunately  had  taken  a  vow  of  chastity,  and  there 
was  nothing  to  do  but  to  flee.  Meanwhile  an  ambassador  from  Rome 
arrived  at  the  court  of  the  Armenian  king  bearing  a  letter  in  which  Tir- 
idates was  informed  of  the  flight  of  the  virgin  to  his  land,  and  bidden 
to  discover  the  refugees,  to  send  Rhipsime  to  Rome,  and  to  kill  her  com- 
panions. The  emperor  added,  however,  in  truly  generous  fashion,  that 
he  might  himself  marry  her  if  he  was  overcome  by  her  charms. 

The  band  was  found,  Rhipsime  was  recognized,  and  the  king  sent 
an  escort  of  litters  to  bring  them  to  his  court.  As  Diocletian  suspected, 
the  Armenian  king  also  fell  in  love,  for  the  maiden,  having  refused  the 
pomp  of  a  royal  equipage,  was  forced  to  appear  before  him  in  court.  The 
Armenian's  suit  was  likewise  a  failure.  Rhipsime  would  marry,  provided 
he  became  Christian,  which  the  king  took  as  mockery.     Again  the  girl 

*•  Agathangelus  pp.  126-33. 

«  Ibid.  p.  135. 

"  Lynch  1:256.     Agathangelus  p.  139. 


32  LOUIS  A.   BOETTIGER 

succeeded  in  escaping,  but  she  was  tracked,  overtaken  with  her  compan- 
ions, bound  with  cords,  and  put  to  death  with  great  cruelty.  Both  Rhip- 
sime  and  her  nurse  Gaiane  are  commemorated  on  the  calendar  of  saints, 
and  at  Etchmiadzin,  the  religious  center  of  the  nation,  there  are  three 
edifices;  the  largest  and  most  important  bears  the  name  of  St.  Gregory, 
while  the  other  two  respectively  bear  the  names  of  the  two  saints,  Rhip- 
sime  and  Gaiane. 

Agathangelus  relates  the  legend  in  his  Histoire  du  Regne  de  Tiridate 
but  unfortunately  the  book  has  been  tampered  with  and  now  contains 
much  questionable  material.29  There  are  mentioned  ominous  thunder- 
claps, openings  of  heaven,  divine  voices  exhorting  Rhipsime  to  stand 
firm  in  her  faith,  and  the  transformation  of  Tiridates  into  a  grass-eating 
boar  which  was  the  punishment  for  his  great  crime.  The  sister' of  the 
king,  Khosrovitukht,  had  a  vision,  in  which  she  was  told  that  the  only 
remedy  was  to  send  for  a  prisoner  named  Gregory,  who  had  been  cast 
into  a  well  some  thirteen  years  before.  A  rope  was  let  down  into  the  cav- 
ern, and  to  the  astonishment  of  all,  there  emerged  a  human  form,  black- 
ened to  the  color  of  coal.  It  was  none  other  than  Gregory.  He  also  saw 
visions  and  heard  divine  voices  speak  through  curious  openings  in  heaven. 
Strange  columns  of  fire  and  flaming  crosses  of  light  appeared  to  him  in 
the  places  where  Rhipsime  and  Gaiane  suffered  martyrdom;  and  there 
appeared  a  great  deal  more  to  him  which  is  recorded,  even  as  there  must 
have  appeared  yet  more  which  is  not  recorded.  The  result  of  all  of  this 
was  that  Gregory  ordered  the  construction  of  two  chapels,  one  to  be  erected 
in  honor  of  Rhipsime,  the  other  in  memory  of  Gaiane,  both  of  which 
are  still  standing  in  Etchmiadzin.  Etchmiadzin  means,  "the  place  where 
the  Only-Begotten  descended"  for  it  was  at  this  place  that  Gregory  be- 
held his  miraculous  vision.  Having  prayed  for  the  healing  of  the  king, 
the  horns  fell  from  the  royal  head,  and  Tiridates,  now  a  Christian,  shared 
in  the  work  of  constructing  the  chapels.30  He  ascended  Ararat  and  re- 
turned with  huge  blocks  of  stone  which  he  laid  at  the  portals  of  the  chap- 
els in  expiation  of  his  sin.     Tt  was  customary  among  Armenians  to  place 

*•  Critics  have  distinguished  Agathangelus,  the  historian,  from  Pseudo  Agathangelus,  the  meddler, 
who  evidently  had  religious  interests  at  stake.  The  formei  lived  in  the  fourth  century,  and  was  secretary 
to  Tiridates,  who  unquestionably  commissioned  him  to  keep  the  records  of  the  events  of  his  reign.  He 
is  spoken  of  by  Moses  and  other  ancient  historians  as  sincere  and  reliable.  It  is  thus  assumed  that  the  orig- 
inal work  has  been  destroyed  or  lost,  and  that  the  Greek  and  Armenian  texts  now  existing  are  the  work 
of  an  interpolater  who  desired  to  weave  the  straggling  skeins  of  religious  sentiment  into  a  single  garment 
by  establishing  an  historic  and  literary  sanction  to  the  religious  events  of  the  period  of  the  conversion. 
There  are  many  indications  of  this,  chief  of  which  is  the  highly  imaginative  style  of  narrative,  undoubtedly 
designed  with  the  particular  intent  of  capturing  the  minds  of  the  people.  (Langlois'  introduction  to  Aga- 
thangelus 1:99-108.) 

*°  Langlois  in  his  footnotes  states  that  the  chapel  consecrated  to  St.  Gaiane  was  constructed  by  the 
Katholikos  Ezdras  in  the  year  630.  and  repaired  in  1652.  The  church  of  St.  Rhipsime  was  built  by  the 
Katholikos  Gomidas  in  618,  and  repaired  in  1653.  The  main  cathedral  was  built  by  St.  Gregory.  They 
are  situated  in  Etchmiadzin.    (Dubois  3:213.    Langlois  1:160,  162.) 


LEGENDS  OF   THE    CONVERSION  33 

huge  blocks  of  stone  at  the  entrance  of  a  church  by  way  of  offering.  Du- 
bois de  Montpereux  saw  a  number  of  such  stones,  six  or  seven  feet  high, 
in  front  of  the  cathedral  at  Etchmiadzin,  but  Lynch  found  no  trace  of 
them.31 

Such  are  the  legends  of  Gregory  and  of  Tiridates'  conversion  to  Chris- 
tianity. In  all  justice,  the  highly  imaginative  material  which  was  prob- 
ably the  work  of  an  enthusiast,  and  in  all  certainty  a  surreptitious  in- 
sertion in  the  work  of  the  historian,  should  be  distinguished  from  the  less 
fanciful  material  concerning  the  imprisonment  of  Gregory  and  the  mar- 
tyrdom of  the  virgins,  which  though  legendary,  may  probably  be  connected 
with  the  events  of  history. 

Although  Dubois  de  Montpereux  recognizes  that  all  traditions  point 
to  the  conversion  of  Armenia  as  having  taken  place  before  the  conversion 
of  Constantine  (in  312),  he  does  not  consider  this  as  probable,  for  Tir- 
idates, as  a  tributary  king,  and  imitator  of  the  Romans  in  all  things,  could 
not  have  had  the  courage  to  take  so  important  a  step  except  in  following 
out  the  policy  of  the  emperor.*2  Gregory,  according  to  the  view  of  Du- 
bois, remained  in  his  prison  well  until  Constantine  accepted  Christianity, 
when  the  Armenian  king  called  for  him  and  was  converted  as  a  matter 
of  diplomacy  after  listening  to-his  exhortations. 

But  this  is  not  accepted  by  modern  writers,  any  more  than  it  was 
by  the  ancient  historians.  Bryce  places  the  conversion  at  302,  and  states 
that  the  so-called  conversion  of  Constantine  happened  either  twelve  or 
thirty-seven  years  later,  according  as  one  reckons  to  the  battle  of  the  Mil- 
vian  Bridge,  or  his  baptism.33  Armenia,  therefore,  was  the  first  country 
that  adopted  Christianity  a*s  a  religion  of  state,  a  matter  of  no  small  pride 
to  the  Gregorians,  and  it  has  been  maintained  as  the  national  religion  ever 
since  in  a  form  so  intact  as  to  surpass  the  dreams  of  the  most  ultra-con- 
servative. And  this,  too,  in  the  face  of  attacks  by  Persian  fire-worship- 
pers who  attempted  to  force  their  religion  upon  the  people,  Greek  and 
Latin  popes,  Mohammedan  khalifs,  and  Turkish  sultans.  Ormanian, 
former  Armenian  patriarch  at  Constantinople,  who  gives  the  date  as  301, 
considers  the  existence  of  the  churches  of  St.  Rhipsime  and  St.  Gaiane 
with  their  inscriptions  as  positive  proof,  and  mentions  also  the  testimony 
in  the  writings  of  Eusebius,  who  cites  the  war  of  the  year  311  which  the 
Emperor  Maximianus,  the  Dacian,  declared  against  Armenians  on  account 
of  their,  at  that  time,  recent  conversion.34  The  critical  studies  made  since 
the  journey  of  Dubois  (1837)  are  conclusive  at  least  in  this,  that  the  con- 
version of  Tiridates  and  of  the  nation  could  not  have  taken  place  later 

11  Lynch  1:291,  note. 
"  Dubois  3:276. 
"Bryce  pp.  314,  315. 
u  Ormanian  p.  13. 


34  LOUIS  A.    BOETTIGER 

than  the  year  302,  and  there  is  no  doubt  therefore  of  the  claim  that  the 
Gregorian  church  is  the  oldest  national  Christian  church  of  the  world. 

Section  4.    The  Armenian  Church  as  a  Social  Force 

The  conversion  of  the  people  followed  close  upon  the  conversion  of 
the  king,  for  Gregory  was  a  temple-building  priest  not  without  ambition, 
and  the  king  was  an  acknowledged  hero.  The  business  of  converting  the 
nation  was  not  a  matter  of  priests  and  preaching  as  suggested  by  Dubois;36 
as  indicated  before,  it  was  rather  a  matter  of  fire  and  sword.  Ormanian 
supposes  that  it  was  due  to  the  work  of  the  Christian  communities  al- 
ready established,  whose  work  was  stimulated  and  encouraged  by  the 
king's  conversion.36  "Indeed,"  he  says,  "the  almost  instant  conversion 
of  the  whole  of  Armenia  at  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century,  can  not 
be  explained  but  by  the  preexistence  of  a  Christian  element  which  had 
taken  root  in  the  country."  And  again,  "The  first  nucleus  of  the  faith- 
ful, by  its  steadfast  energy,  at  length  succeeded  in  gaining  the  mastery 
over  both  obstacles  and  persecutions."  This  does  not  seem  to  me  to  be 
correct,  for  in  the  first  place  the  Christianity  of  the  first,  second,  and 
third  centuries  was  not  the  Christianity  of  Gregory ;  it  was  one  of  the  many 
forms  of  worship  killed  by  Gregory;  and  in  the  second  place  there  are  suffi- 
cient records  to  prove  the  wholesale  destruction  of  pagan  temples,  images, 
idols,  and  inscriptions  as  carried  out  by  the  king  and  saint,  and  of  the  use 
of  the  sword  in  forcing  the  people  to  change  their  faith.37 

First,  then,  what  was  the  Christianity  of  the  first  centuries?  It  is 
clear  that  the  ideal  was  one  of  communal  simplicity  of  life.  That  it 
was  opposed  to  all  hierarchies  and  established  priesthoods  there  can  be 
no  question.  The  irksome  round  of  daily  toil  was  idealized  in  the  fellow- 
ship of  a  common  faith,  the  central  point  of  which  was  the  indwelling 
of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Hence  baptism  was  the  all-important  event,  for 
through  baptism  the  Holy  Spirit  descended  into  the  human  heart  even- 
as  into  Christ  when  he  was  baptized  by  John  in  the  Jordan.  Jesus  was 
no  God  come  to  earth  in  human  form  by  a  miraculous  conception;  he  was 
the  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary.  Feeling  his  kinship  with  God  he  was  bap- 
tized, which  ceremony  was  merely  symbolic  of  the  Indwelling  Spirit.  These 
early  Christians  have  been  called  adoptionists,  for  the  ceremony  of  bap- 
tism is  said  to  represent  the  adoption  of  the  individual  by  God,  or  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  both  expressions  having  been  used  synonymously.  Simple 
and  pure,  it  seems  that  the  adoptionists  came  as  near  carrying  out  the 

m  Dubois  3:276. 

M  Ormanian  p.  8. 

•7  Agathangelus  pp.  164-66. 


LEGENDS  OF   THE    CONVERSION  35 

spirit  of  the  teachings  of  Jesus  as  any  Christian  sect  that  ever  existed.88 
But  how  utterly  opposed,  how  perfectly  contradictory  to  the  brick  and 
mortar  religion  of  Gregory!  That  the  adoptionists  were  objects  of 
persecution  by  the  orthodox  church  is  a  certainty,  and  it  was  very  prob- 
ably this  sect  that  was  referred  to  in  "that  stubborn  heresy  of  their  na- 
tive land"  mentioned  so  frequently  by  Armenian  writers.  The  following 
picture  was  clearly  set  forth  in  a  disputation  between  two  Armenian  church- 
men occurring  at  the  close  of  the  third  century.  "Tell  me,"  says  Arche- 
laus,  "over  whom  it  was  that  the  Holy  Spirit  descended  like  a  dove?  Who 
is  this  one  whom  John  baptized?  If  he  was  already  perfect,  if  he  was  al- 
ready the  Son,  if  he  was  already  Virtue,  the  Holy  Spirit  could  not  have 
entered  into  him.  A  kingdom  can  not  enter  into  a  kingdom."39  What 
is  also  to  the  point  is  the  celebrated  formula  of  Nice  (325)  at  which  the 
nature  of  Christ  was  defined  as  essentially  and  continuously  divine. 
"Christ  a  very  God,  begotten  of  God,  but  not  a  creature  of  God;  Son  of 
God,  of  one  nature  with  God;  who  came  down  from  heaven  and  took  flesh, 
and  became  man,  and  suffered  and  ascended  unto  heaven;  who  was  before 
he  was  begotten,  and  who  has  always  been."  The  decision  was  in  abso- 
lute contradiction  to  the  adoptionist  faith,  and  it  was  legislated  by  this 
august  council,  that  the  members  of  such  faith,  who  were  called  Paulicians, 
after  their  leader  Paul  of  "Samosata,  should  be  rebaptized  before  admission 
to  the  church.40  The  recalcitrants  were  driven  to  the  mountains,  where 
they  increased  in  number  as  in  strength  until  the  persecution  of  the  ninth 
century.  Both  Agathangelus  and  Faustus  of  Byzantium  were  silent  con- 
cerning these  people,  and,  one  suspects,  advisedly  so. 

Such  was  pre-Gregorian  Christianity.  How  ridiculous  to  suppose 
that  the  conversion  of  the  nation  was  due  to  the  firm  roots  already  es- 
tablished by  the  Christians  when  the  Christians  themselves  had  to  be 
converted! 

On  the  contrary,  it  was  the  right  of  might  that  established  the  new 
religion.  The  troops  of  the  capital  city  were  led  by  the  king  and  priest 
in  such  an  image-  and  temple-smashing  campaign  as  was  never  before 
seen.  Proceeding  down  the  Araxes  valley,  the  temple  of  the  god  Dir  was 
levelled  to  the  ground;  the  temple  of  Anahit  was  stoutly  defended  but 
to  no  avail;  the  temple  was  burned.  One  after  another  of  the  most  fa- 
mous sanctuaries  were  destroyed;  temples  of  Aramazd,   of  Mithra,   of 

88  See  Conybeare's  translation  and  annotation  of  the  Key  of  Truth,  the  book  of  the  Paulicians  (Adoption- 
ists) of  Thonrak.  Th.is  book  contains  the  baptismal  and  ordinal  service  of  the  Adoptionist  church.  (Es- 
pecially pp.  vi-xcxii.) 

8«  Conybeare  p.  xcvii.  The  original  is  given  by  Conybeare  as  follows:  "Die  mihi,"  says  Archelaus, 
"super  quem  Spiritus  Sanctus  sicut  columba  descendit.  Quis  est  etiam  qui  baptizatur  a  Ioanne  si  perfec- 
tus  erat,  si  Filius  erat,  si  vertus  erat,  non  poterat  Spiritus  ingredi;  sicut  nee  regnum  potest  ingredi  intra 
regnum  " 

Lynch  1:279. 

"Ibid.  1:282. 


36  LOUIS  A.   BOETTIGER 

Nane,  and  of  Anahit,  many  of  which  were  defended  by  the  vanquished 
until  overpowered.41  Shrines  of  Vahakn  and  of  Astghik  were  laid  to  waste 
to  be  replaced  by  Christian  churches  which  grew  up  over  the  ruins  as  if 
overnight;  and  if  a  temple  was  destroyed,  it  was  only  to  build  a  Chris- 
tian church  in  its  stead.  So  construction  followed  in  the  wake  of  destruc- 
tion, the  old  was  supplanted  by  the  new,  and  when  all  armed  resistance 
was  beaten  down,  the  king  and  priest  continued  the  work  by  preaching. 

When  the  work  was  fairly  under  way  the  ambitious  priest  journeyed 
to  Cesarea  in  Cappadocia  where  he  got  himself  ordained.  This  Gregory 
was  no  meek-spirited  adoptionist.  He  was  the  son  of  Anak,  of  royal  blood, 
ambitious,  zealous,  suffering  and  doing  all  things  to  gain  his  ends. 

In  view,  therefore,  of  the  actual  character  of  preexisting  Christian- 
ity, and  of  the  methods  employed  in  converting  the  people,  how  can  one 
reasonably  suppose  that  the  "instant  conversion  of  the  whole  of  Armenia 
to  Christianity  can  not  be  explained  but  by  the  preexistence  of  a  Chris- 
tian element  which  had  taken  root  in  the  country"? 

The  state-authorized  religion,  however,  did  take  root  in  the  country, 
and  became  inextricably  interwoven  with  the  self-consciousness  of  the 
nation.  It  became  the  organ  of  national  expression,  and  for  many  centuries 
has  been  the  very  backbone  of  the  people.  If  the  molten  metals  of  national 
life  had  hardened  during  the  reign  of  the  Arsacidae  kings  they  were  at  the 
time  of  the  conversion  in  a  molten  state,  ready  to  be  remolded.  This  did 
not  require  much  time.  Old  festivals  were  carried  over  intact,  except  that 
they  were  given  a  new  meaning.  The  old  national  traditions,  legends,  and 
folk-lore  were  in  the  common  possession  of  the  people,  and  there  was  no  rea- 
son for  discouraging  them.  In  fact  the  Armenian  church  even  more  than 
the  state  encouraged  them,  for  it  recognized  in  them,  a  source  of  solidar- 
ity and  national  unity,  as  essential  to  the  life  of  the  church  as  its  hier- 
archies, liturgy,  and  calendar  of  saints.  So  much  then  was  old;  part  of 
the  past  carried  over  into  the  present  to  be  carried  over  into  the  future. 
What  then  was  new?  First  the  legends  and  traditions,  already  mentioned, 
imbedded  in  the  immediately  past  events  of  the  new  order.  Legends 
of  Abgar,  of  Gregory,  of  Thaddeus,  of  Rhipsime,  of  Tiridates,  passed 
like  magic  fire  from  person  to  person,  creating  a  common  sentiment  which 
made  the  foundations  of  the  new  church  absolutely  secure.  How  firm- 
ly this  foundation  was  established  is  indicated  by  the  reaction  of  the  church 
to  the  decisions  at  the  Council  of  Chalcedon,  where  the  dogma  of  the 
dual  nature  of  Christ  was  affirmed,  in  perfect  contradiction  to  the  Nicaean 
dogma,  and  by  the  reaction  against  the  Persian  proposals  to  accept  fire- 
worship  as  the  state  religion. 

«  Lynch  1-294. 
Agathangelus  pp.  164-66. 


LEGENDS   OF   THE    CONVERSION  37 

I  shall  consider  the  second  point  first.  As  already  stated,  the  year 
428  marked  the  end  of  the  Armenian  Arsacid  dynasty.  The  nation  was 
divided  between  Persia  and  Rome  at  this  time,  largely  as  a  result  of  in- 
ternal dissensions.  In  the  year  450  the  Persian  king  sent  a  letter  to  the 
Armenian  princes,  setting  forth  the  excellence  of  fire-worship  and  the 
foolishness  of  Christianity,  and  summoned  the  Armenians  to  accept 
the  Persian  religion.42  A  council  of  bishops  and  laymen  was  held  and 
a  reply  of  unanimous  refusal  was  drawn  up.  "From  this  faith  no  one 
can  move  us,  neither  angels  nor  men,  neither  sword  nor  fire,  nor  water, 
nor  any  deadly  punishment."'3  A  rather  impertinent  reply  from  a  sub- 
ject nation  to  one  which  dominated  it;  but  thoroughly  characteristic  of 
the  Armenians.  The  Persians  did  use  fire  and  sword,  and  defeated  the 
Armenians  in  the  plain  of  Avarair  under  Mount  Ararat  (451).  But  they  did 
not  gain  their  end.  An  old  historian  wrote  of  the  battle,  "swords  of  slay- 
ers grew  dull,  but  their  necks  were  not  weary,"  and  the  Persian  high  priest 
having  seen  the  utter  hopelessness  of  his  project  wrote,  "these  people 
have  put  on  Christianity,  not  like  a  garment,  but  like  flesh  and  blood."44 

Already,  only  one  hundred  fifty  years  after  the  conversion,  the  founda- 
tion of  the  church  was  secure.  This  of  course  was  made  possible  by  the 
completeness  of  the  work  of  its  founders;  but  this  in  itself  would  not  have 
been  sufficient.  A  common  favorable  sentiment  had  been  created,  which 
grew  up  under  the  natural  conditions  of  life,  and  inasmuch  as  the  legends 
described  are  part  of  the  common  beliefs  of  the  people,  it  may  be  inferred 
that  they  played  an  important  role  in  the  formation  of  this  sentiment. 
The  church,  on  the  other  hand,  has  incorporated  these  legendary  beliefs 
in  its  ritual  and  ceremony,  and  in  that  way  has  given  them  the  necessary 
sanction  by  which  they  are  passed  on  from  generation  to  generation.  They 
thus  form  part  of  the  permanent  social  tradition  of  the  Armenian  people. 

The  security  of  the  church  at  this  early  time  (450)  was  indicated  not 
only  by  the  reaction  of  the  nation  to  the  Persian  proposals  of  fire-worship, 
but  also  by  the  reaction  to  the  decision  of  the  Council  of  Chalcedon,  at 
which,  as  stated,  the  dual  nature  of  Christ  was  dogmatically  affirmed, 
in  contradiction  to  the  dogma  established  at  the  Council  of  Nicsea  (325), 

*•  St.  Martin  ltappendix. 
Elisee  Vartabed.  Histoire  de  Vartan.     Langlois  2:190-91. 

»  Ibid.  p.  195. 

44  Lidgett.  An  Ancient  People. 
The  detailed  events  of  this  struggle  against  the  Persians  are  told  in  the  Flistoire  de  Vartan  et  de  la 
Guerre  det  Armeniens,  by  Elisee  Vartabed  who  belonged  to  the  second  order  of  translators  and  served 
under  General  Vartan  during  the  war.  the  history  of  which  he  narrates  After  the  sad  ending  of  the  series 
of  dramatic  .ncidents  that  made  up  this  struggle  for  religious  freedom,  Elisee  sought  solitude  and  lived 
on  herbs  and  roots  in  a  mountainside  cave  which  came  to  be  known  as  the  "cave  of  Elisee."  Because 
of  a  growing  social  intimacy  he  was  obliged  to  find  a  second  cave  in  a  more  remote  section  of  the  country, 
where  he  completed  his  work  and  died  His  history  is  written  in  the  style  of  a  religious  mystic,  is  full 
of  dramatic  imagery,  and  has  come  down  as  an  Armenian  classic.     (Langlois  2:179-82.) 


38  LOUIS   A.    BOETTICER 

accepted  by  the  Armenian  church.    But  at  the  time  of  the  Chalcedonian 
council,  the  Persian  difficulties  were  taking  place,  the  battle  of  Avarair 
having  occurred  during  the  same  year,  and  it  was  not  until  491  that  the 
Armenians  held  a  synod  of  their  own  which  assembled  at  Vagharshapat, 
in  order  to  take  decisive  action.45    The  decisions  of  the  Council  of  Chal- 
cedon  were  rejected  and  the  action  was  repeated  at  subsequent  synods. 
Of  the  three  sees  or  patriarchates,  the  Roman  at  Rome,  the  Greek  at  Alex- 
andria, and  the  Byzantine  at  Constantinople,  the  latter  was  gaining  in 
power,  and  it  was  at  the  Council  of  Chalcedon  that  the  precedence  of  the 
see  of  Constantinople  was  recognized.       Naturally,  neither  the  Roman 
nor  Greek  sees  acknowledged  the  decision  of  the  council,  but  later  both 
Greek  and  Latin  churches  revoked  their  opposition,   and  recognized  it 
as  the  fourth  (Ecumenic  Council.     But  the  Armenian  church  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  Chalcedon,  in  spite  of  Greek  and  Latin  approval,  and 
since  that  time  she  has  stood  alone,  absolutely  independent  of  Greek  and 
Latin  churches.     Ormanian  states:  "She  set  herself  to  resist  every  new 
dogmatic  utterance  said  to  emanate  from  revelation,  as  well  as  any  in- 
novation which  could  in  any  way  pervert  the  primitive  faith."46     The 
"primitive  faith"  may  be  a  slight  stretch  of  point,  but  the  fact  that  the 
Armenian  church  adopted  an  absolutely  independent  policy,  which  sep- 
arated her  from  all  other  Christian  churches,  and  to  which  she  has  stead- 
fastly adhered  in  spite  of  persistent  Greek  and  Latin  influence  and  efforts 
at  domination,  is  in  clear  support  of  my  assertion  that  the  social  founda- 
tions of  the  church  were  firmly  and  securely  established  as  early  as  450, 
only  one  hundred  fifty  years  after  the  work  of  Gregory  and  Tiridates. 

«  Lynch  1:313. 

Ormanian  p.  35. 
«  Ibid.  p.  36. 


CHAPTER  IV 

LOCALITY  LEGENDS 

Section  1.    Ararat 

There  is  a  third  and  last  body  of  Armenian  legends  more  closely  re- 
lated to  the  second  group  discussed  than  to  the  first,  and  yet  marked 
off  in  some  respects  from  the  second  as  well.  They  have  a  distinct  relig- 
ious stamp  like  those  we  have  just  finished  describing,  and  they  are  all 
related  in  some  way  to  the  stories  of  the  Old  Testament.  The  legend  of 
Haic  is  related  to  the  Old  Testament,  for  Haic  was  the  great-grandson 
of  Noah,  but  it  clearly  belongs  to  the  first  group  taken  up,  for  the  rea- 
son that  it  has  to  do  with  the  origin  of  the  Armenian  nation.  The  first 
body,  including  Haic,  and  the  legends  of  Semiramis  and  Ara,  Vahakn, 
Artasches  and  Satenik,  and  Artavazd,  are  all  concerned  with  ancient 
Armenian  kings,  real  or  mythical,  and  all  go  back  to  a  time  before  the 
introduction  of  Christianity.  Vahakn  was  deified,  but  that  does  not 
exclude  him  since  he  was  first  a  king.  The  second  group,  including 
the  legends  of  Abgar,  Rhipsime  and  Gaiane,  Gregory,  Thaddeus,  and 
Tiridates,  are  all  concerned  with  historical  figures,  real  or  supposed,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  about  their  historic  reality,  with  the  exception  of  Rhip- 
sime and  Gaiane.  But  what  marks  them  oft  from  the  other  groups  is  that 
they  are  all  concerned  with  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  the  coun- 
try. Those  of  the  third  group  have  no  historic  value  whatever.  They 
are  legends  based  upon  legends  that  date  back  to  a  period  even  more  re- 
mote than  the  legend  of  Haic,  and  their  social  value  does  not  approach 
that  of  the  first  two  groups.  They  are  all  connected  in  some  way,  either 
with  the  Old  Testament  legend  of  Noah,  or  with  the  legend  of  the  origin 
of  man.  No  traveler  ever  passed  through  Armenia  without  hearing  of 
one  or  more  of  them. 

"In  the  seventh  month,  on  the  seventeenth  day  of  the  month,  the  ark 
rested  upon  the  mountains  of  Ararat."1  Every  Armenian,  and  others, 
too,  believe  that  this  is  the  Ararat  of  Armenia,  or  Masis  as  it  is  called, 
and  it  is  true  that  there  is  absolutely  nothing  to  disprove  such  a  belief. 
James  Bryce  has  given  a  careful  consideration  to  the  question,  and  states 
in  conclusion  that  full  liberty  is  left  to  the  traveler  to  consider  the  "snowy 
sovereign  of  the  Araxes  plain"  to  be  the  true  Ararat.2  There  are  several 
points  that  may  be  noted.  First,  there  is  nothing  in  the  statement  of 
Genesis  to  show  that  the  Ararat  mentioned  was  a  mountain  called  by  that 

1  Genesis  8:4. 

•James  Bryce,  Transcaucasia  and  Ararat  p.  210. 
St.  Martin  1:264. 


40  LOUIS  A.    BOETTIGER 

name;  it  seems  rather  that  Ararat  was  a  section  of  country,  for  the  passage 
states  that  the  ark  rested  "upon  the  mountains  of  Ararat."  In  the  sec- 
ond place,  the  mountain  is  not  called  Ararat  by  Armenians,  but  Masis. 
And  thirdly,  there  is  no  independent  Armenian  tradition  of  the  flood  so 
far  as  is  known,  for  it  can  not  be  shown  that  the  modern  tradition  is  older 
than  the  Christian  era.  ■ 

These  facts  would  be  conclusive  evidence  that  Armenian  Ararat  is  not 
the  traditional  Ararat  of  the  Old  Testament,  were  it  not,  first,  for  the  fact 
that  there  was  in  the  region  of  the  mountain  a  province  of  Airarat  which 
in  all  probability  corresponds  to  the  biblical  Ararat.  Secondly,  the  biblical 
Ararat  unquestionably  corresponds  to  the  Assyrian  Urarthu  which  is  the 
section  of  country  about  Lake  Van  and  Mount  Ararat.  So  that,  although 
not  absolutely  conclusive,  the  Armenian  tradition  enjoys  a  very  high 
degree  of  probability. 

In  this  connection  the  legend  of  the  village  of  Nakhitchevan  is  worth 
noting.  It  is  situated  just  to  the  north  of  the  mountain  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  Araxes.  Armenians  believe  it  to  be  the  place  where  Noah  first  landed, 
and  as  proof,  the  name  of  the  village,  which  means,  "the  first  place 
of  landing,"  is  cited.  One  might  suppose  the  name  to  have  been  given 
by  the  Christians  after  the  conversion  to  Christianity,  were  it  not  that 
Ptolemy  places  in  the  same  spot  a  city  named  Naxuana  which  is  the  ex- 
act Greek  for  the  Armenian  name.  Also  Josephus,  fifty  years  before 
Ptolemy  speaks  of  the  place,  as  quoted  by  St.  Martin;  "Les  Arrrrniens 
appellent  ce  lieu  l'endroit  de  la  descente  parce  que  c'est  la  que  l'arche 
trouva  un  endroit  de  salut,  et  qu'encore  actuellement  les  indigenes  mon- 
trent  ses  debris."3  Tavernier  who  traveled  through  the  country  along 
about  1700  speaks  of  Nakhitchevan  as  the  "oldest  city  of  the  world" 
and  gives  the  tradition.4  But  many  Jews,  who  undoubtedly  gave  the  vil- 
lage its  name,  lived  in  Armenia,  long  before  the  Christian  era. 

Situated  on  a  broad  plain  four  or  five  thousand  feet  above  sea  level, 
Ararat  rises  majestic  and  solitary  to  a  height  of  17,000  feet.  There  are 
no  lesser  peaks  or  ranges  to  destroy  the  grandeur  of  the  effect.  Except 
for  its  companion,  Little  Ararat,  which  rises  beside  it  on  a  common  base 
to  a  height  of  12,840  feet,  it  stands  alone  as  monarch  of  the  broad  plain 
it  surveys.  Little  Ararat  is  in  the  form  of  a  perfect  cone,  whereas  Ararat 
is  broad-shouldered  and  dome-shaped,  supported  by  huge  buttresses 
and  capped  with  snow  a  considerable  distance  down  the  slope  through 
the  entire  year.    It  is  truly  symbolic  of  strength  and  majesty. 

Such  is  the  mountain  about  which  a  thousand  legends  cluster.  Marco 
Polo  says  of  the  mountain:  "There  is  an  exceeding  great  mountain  on  which 

3  St.  Martin  1:267-68. 

4  Tavernier,  Voyages  1:43. 


LOCALITY  LEGENDS  41 

it  is  said  the  ark  of  Noah  rested,  and  for  this  cause  it  is  called  the  moun- 
tain of  the  Ark  of  Noah."  In  1254,  a  little  before  Marco  Polo's  time, 
a  Franciscan  friar,  William  of  Rubruck  passed  by  the  mountain  upon  which 
the  ark  is  said  to  have  rested,  which  mountain,  he  said,  could  not  be  as- 
cended, though  the  earnest  prayers  of  a  pious  monk  prevailed  so  far  that  a 
piece  of  the  wood  of  the  ark  was  brought  to  him  by  an  angel,  which  piece, 
he  said,  is  still  preserved  in  a  church  near  by  as  a  holy  relic.  He  gives 
Masis  as  the  name  of  the  mountain  and  adds  that  it  is  the  Mother  of  the 
World.  According  to  a  Persian  tradition  it  is  called  "Cradle  of  the  Human 
Race."  Still  more  interesting  is  the  account  by  Sir  John  Maundeville,  part 
of  which  runs  as  follows:  "Fro  Artyroun  go  men  to  an  Hille,  that  is  clept 
Sabisocolle.  And  there  besyde  is  another  Hille,  that  men  clepen  Ararathe: 
but  the  Jews  clepen  it  Taneez,  where  Noas  Schipp  rested :  and  zit  is  upon 
that  Montayne  and  men  may  see  it  a  ferr  in  clear  wedre:  and  that  Mon- 
tayne  is  well  a  myle  high.  And  sum  men  seyn  that  they  have  seen  and 
touched  the  Schipp;  and  put  here  Fyngres  in  the  parties  where  the  Feend 
went  out  when  that  Noe  seyd  'Benedicta.'  But  they  that  seyn  such  Wordes 
seyn  here  Willie,  for  a  man  may  not  gon  up  the  Montayne  for  gret  plen- 
ties of  Snow  that  is  alle  weys  on  that  Montayne  nouther  Somer  ne  Win- 
ter: so  that  no  man  may  gon  up  there:  ne  never  man  did,  sithe  the  time 
of  Noe:  Saf  a  Monk  that  be  the  grace  of  God  brought  one  of  the  Plankes 
down,  that  zit  is  in  the  Mynstre  at  the  foot  of  the  Montayne.  And  be- 
side is  the  Cytes  of  Dayne  that  Noe  founded.  And  faste  by  it  is  the  Cytee 
of  Any,  in  which  were  1000  churches.  But  upon  that  Montayne  to  gon 
up  this  monk  had  gret  desir.  and  so  upon  a  day  he  went  up  and  when  he 
was  the  third  part  of  the  Montayne  he  was  so  wery  that  he  mighte  not 
furthere,  and  so  he  rested  him  and  felle  to  slep,  and  when  he  awoke  he 
fonde  himself  liggyie  at  the  foot  of  the  Montayne.  And  then  he  preyde 
devoutly  to  God  that  he  wold  vouch  saf  to  sufire  him  gon  up.  And  an 
angelle  cam  to  him  and  seyde  that  he  scholde  gon  up;  and  so  he  did.  And 
sithe  that  Time  never  non.  Wherefore  men  scholde  not  beleeve  such 
Woordes."5 

The  legend  of  the  monk  is  usually  given  in  a  form  which  confirms 
still  more  the  sacredness  of  the  mountain.  St.  Jacob,  as  the  monk  was 
named,  tried  three  successive  times  to  climb  the  mountain.  Each  time 
he  fell  asleep  intending  to  resume  his  journey  the  next  morning,  only 
to  wake  up  finding  himself  at  the  same  point  he  had  started  from  the  pre- 
ceding day.  An  angel  came  to  him  after  the  third  time,  and  told  him  that 
God  had  forbidden  mortal  foot  ever  to  tread  on  the  sacred  summit,  but 
that  he  should  be  given  a  fragment  of  the  ark  in  which  mankind  had  been 
preserved  as  a  reward  for  his  devout  perseverance.6    This  treasure  is  still 

•  Bryce.  Transcaucasia  and  Ararat,  chapter  on  Ararat. 

•  Dubois  3:465. 


42  LOUIS  A.   BOETTIGER 

preserved  at  Etchmiadzin  and  the  saint  is  commemorated  by  the  little 
monastery  of  St.  Jacob,  which  till  1840,  when  a  tremendous  shaking  of 
the  mountain  showered  the  little  monastery  with  rocks  of  destruction, 
stood  above  the  valley  of  Arghuri  on  the  slopes  of  Ararat.  . 

The  little  village  of  Arghuri,  the  single  village  on  the  mountainside, 
was  the  city  of  Noah's  vineyard,  and  contained  a  little  church  which  is 
said  to  hallow  the  spot  where  Noah  first  set  up  an  altar.7  But  this  village 
too,  was  completely  destroyed  by  the  avalanche  of  1840.  Not  the  slight- 
est trace  of  it  remains,  though  only  three  years  before  its  destruction, 
Dubois  de  Montpereux  visited  the  little  city  and  described  it  together 
with  the  church  of  Noah,  Noah's  vineyard,  and  the  monastery  of  St. 
Jacob.8  In  the  garden  of  the  city  were  planted  pear  trees,  apple,  plum, 
cherry,  apricot,  peach,  and  nut  trees.  This  very  garden  was  the  site  of 
the  first  vine  on  which  the  old  patriarch  became  drunk,  and  the  inhab- 
itants showed  Dubois  some  bits  of  creepers  to  prove  it.  "Dieu,"  they 
said,  "pour  punir  les  ceps  qui  avaient  ainsi  entraine  le  pauvre  patriarche 
dans  le  peche,  les  condamna  a  ne  plus  porter  de  raisins."  Naive,  yes,  but 
very  sweetly  so.  And  the  church,  the  people  said,  marked  the  place  where 
Noah  offered  his  first  sacrifice  after  the  deluge.  Except  for  the  garden 
of  Arghuri,  wrote  Dubois,  this  great  mountain  was  absolutely  destitute 
of  verdure;  an  old  stunted  willow,  wound  about  with  snow  and  ice  was 
the  only  other  exception  to  this.  According  to  the  legend,  it  marked  the 
spot  where  a  board  of  Noah's  ark  had  taken  root  and  sprung  up  into  a 
living  tree  which  the  people  venerated.  One  was  not  permitted  to  take 
away  even  the  smallest  of  its  feeble  branches. 

All  of  this  was  blotted  out  so  completely  by  the  shower  of  falling  rocks 
and  boulders  that  it  is  hard  to  imagine  the  places  as  ever  having  existed. 
The  primeval  willow,  the  vineyard,  the  sacred  church,  and  the  little  mon- 
astery of  St.  Jacob  have  left  not  the  slightest  trace.  The  bell  of  the 
old  church  is  no  more  heard;  the  Christian  service  is  not  chanted  any 
longer  on  the  sacred  mountain  of  the  Ark. 

Of  the  numerous  other  legends  associated  with  the  mountain  I  shall 
mention  only  two.  One  of  them  regards  the  summit  of  the  mountain  as 
the  site  of  Chaldean  star-worship,  and  asserts  that  a  pillar  with  a  figure 
of  a  star  stood  upon  it.9  According  to  the  same  legend,  twelve  wise  men 
stood  beside  the  pillar  to  watch  for  the  star  of  the  East,  which  three 
of  them  followed  to  Bethlehem.  The  other  is  in  respect  to  the  spring 
situated  above  the  spot  where  stood  the  monastery.  A  bird,  called  by 
the  Armenians  tetagush,  feeds  on  the  locusts  which  are  such  a  plague  to 

'  Arghuri  means  "II  sema  la  vigne."    St.  Martin  pp.  266,  267. 

»  Dubois  3:465-68. 

•  Bryce,  chapter  on  Ararat. 


LOCALITY  LEGENDS  43 

the  country,  and  curiously  enough,  the  bird  is  attracted  by  the  waters 
of  the  spring.  When  the  locusts  appear,  the  people  carry  their  bottles 
to  the  spring  and  filling  them  with  the  peculiarly  charmed  water,  take 
them  back  to  their  fields  where  they  are  placed  on  the  ground  to  attract 
the  tetagush.  The  people  of  Syria  and  Palestine  were  much  in  need  of 
tetagush  and  Ararat  spring  water  during  the  spring  and  summer  of  1915, 
for  the  swarms  of  locusts  not  only  devoured  the  crops  but  also  the  leaves 
and  barks  of  the  trees. 

Section  2.     Khor-Virap  and  Erzerum 

On  the  bank  of  the  Araxes,  in  the  plain  of  Armenia,  and  in  full  view 
of  Ararat  are  located  the  monastery  of  Khor-Virap  and  the  chapel  of  St. 
Gregory  close  beside  it.  An  Armenian  inscription  is  cut  in  the  walls  of  the 
portico  of  the  monastery  which  marks  the  spot  where  a  monk,  Johannes 
by  name,  appeared  twice  after  his  death  saying  that  he  had  seen  Gregory 
the  Illuminator.  The  chapel  of  St.  Gregory  covers  the  traditional  well 
into  which  he  was  thrown  and  imprisoned  for  thirteen  years  by  King  Ti- 
ridates.  Dubois  descended  into  a  sort  of  tunnel,  fifteen  or  sixteen  feet  be- 
low the  pavement  of  the  chapel,  which  is  part  of  an  old  fortress,  and  was 
shown  the  worn  stones  of  a  niche  where  the  saint  prayed,  as  evidence 
of  the  thirteen  years,  quite  as  though  other  pilgrims  who  knelt  in  the  same 
place  could  not  have  assisted  somewhat  the  pious  work  of  the  saint.10 
The  spot  is  only  a  few  steps  from  the  famous  temple  dedicated  to  the  prin- 
cipal god  of  the  Armenians,  Aramazd,  and  it  seems  clear  that  the  pagan 
king  intended  to  make  a  sacrifice  to  his  gods  in  casting  the  young  fanatic 
into  the  well.  The  temple  was  called  Achelichad,  meaning  "many  sac- 
rifices" because  of  the  many  offerings  here  given  up  to  Aramazd.  With 
the  era  of  Christianity,  the  name  Achelichad  gave  way  to  the  name  Khor 
Virap,  meaning  dry  well.  Gregorius  Magistros,  already  mentioned, 
brought  the  body  of  the  saint  from  Constantinople  and  placed  it  in  the 
bottom  of  the  well,  where  it  served  to  cure  sick  pilgrims. 

There  is  a  tradition  that  the  Armenian  city  of  Erzerum,  not  far  from 
the  source  of  the  Euphrates,  marks  the  vicinity  of  the  Garden  of  Eden.  The 
Persian  king  Khosref  Purveez  is  said  to  have  encamped  in  the  neighbor- 
hood and  to  have  received  a  message  from  the  prophet  Mohammed  dur- 
ing his  sojourn,  in  which  he  was  offered  the  protection  of  Islam  if  he  would 
embrace  the  faith.  But  the  king  spurned  the  proposal  and  tossed  the  let- 
ter into  the  Euphrates.  Nature,  horrified  at  the  sacrilege,  dried  up  the  flow- 
ers and  fruits  of  the  ancient  garden  and  even  parched  up  the  sources 
of  the  river  itself.    And  so  the  last  relic  of  Eden  became  waste.11 

"•Dubois  3:468. 

11  Countess  Evelyn  Martinengo  Cesaresco,  chapter  on  Armenian  folk-songs. 
Fraser's  Magazine  (n.s.)  13:283-97. 


44  LOUIS  A.    BOETTICER 

In  the  same  connection,  there  is  a  plaintive  Armenian  elegy,  composed 
in  the  person  of  Adam,  who,  sitting  at  the  gate  of  paradise,  and  beholding 
cherubim  and  seraphim  enter  the  garden,  makes  the  following  defence: 
he  did  not  eat  the  forbidden  fruit  until  after  he  had  witnessed  its  fatal 
effects  upon  Eve,  when,  seeing  her  despoiled  of  all  her  glory,  he  was  touched 
with  pity  and  tasted  the  immortal  fruit  in  the  hope  that  the  Creator, 
contemplating  both  in  the  same  plight  might  with  paternal  love  take 
compassion  on  them.  But  in  vain.  "The  Lord  cursed  the  serpent  and 
Eve,"  pathetically  cries  Adam,  "and  I  was  enslaved  between  them." 
The  elegy  closes  most  touchingly, — "When  ye  enter  Eden,  shut  not  the  gate 
of  paradise,  but  place  me  standing  at  the  gate.  I  will  look  in  a  moment 
and  then  bring  me  back.  Ah!  I  remember  ye,  0  flowers  and  sweet  smelling 
fountains.    Ah!  I  remember  ye,  O  birds,  sweet  singing,  And  ye,  O  beasts."12 

uFraser's  Magazine  (n.s.)  13:283-97. 


CHAPTER    V 
INTERPRETATION    AND    CONCLUSIONS 

Because  these  legends  are  for  the  most  part  based  upon  older  legends, 
and  also  because  some  of  them  are  known  only  locally,  they  can  not  be 
said  to  have  played  so  important  a  role  in  Armenian  social  life  as  the  first 
two  groups  of  legends.  It  would  be  a  mistake,  however,  to  suppose  that 
all  of  the  Ararat  legends  have  merely  a  local  value.  Ararat  is  the  center 
of  the  nation,  the  grand  geographical  feature  of  the  country,  and  many 
of  the  beliefs  clustered  about  it  are  held  in  common.  In  fact  there  is  a 
very  old  belief  which  considers  the  sacred'mountain  to  be  the  center  of 
the  world,  and  to-day  it  is  the  common  point  of  meeting  of  the  boundaries 
of  Russian,  Turkish,  and  Persian  Armenia.  And  this  is  no  accident;  it 
is  because  of  the  veneration  in  which  the  mountain  is  held,  and  conse- 
quently, the  realization  of  the  importance  the  mountain  gives  to  any 
territory  in  which  it  may  be  located.  The  belief  that  Ararat  is  the  moun- 
tain of  the  Ark,  the  legend  of  Noah's  vineyard,  and  the  legend  of  St.  Jacob 
are  very  commonly  accepted.  -The  primeval  willow,  the  church  of  Arghuri, 
the  legend,  or  perhaps  one  should  say,  the  superstition  of  the  tetagush, 
and  the  legend  of  the  wise  men  in  search  of  the  star  of  the  East,  enjoy  a 
more  restricted  circulation.  Furthermore,  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that 
the  legends  centered  in  the  destroyed  city  of  Arghuri  have  not  been  told 
as  frequently  as  of  old,  and  are  therefore  dying  out  gradually,  although 
they  seem  still  to  be  very  much  alive.  A  legend  or  tradition  that  is  ob- 
jectified in  an  old  willow,  in  a  monastery,  or  in  a  garden,  is  likely  to  die 
out  gradually  with  the  destruction  of  its  object.  But  some  of  them  will 
never  die  out,  object  or  no  object,  as  for  example  the  legend  of  the  devout 
monk  who  tried  to  gain  the  summit  of  Ararat  in  order  to  see  the  holy  Ark. 
There  is  something  in  his  waking  up  each  successive  morning  only  to  find 
himself  at  the  same  point  he  had  started  from  the  preceding  day,  which 
will  keep  its  hold,  whether  there  be  a  monastery  erected  in  his  name  or 
not.  And  if  the  vineyard  has  been  destroyed  the  people  may  very  soon 
find  another.  In  fact  I  should  be  surprised  if  in  traveling  through  the 
mountain  region  of  Ararat,  I  was  not  shown  the  legendary  vineyard.  This, 
however,  would  more  likely  be  true  of  a  legend  that  had  a  commercial 
value  to  the  community  because  of  the  frequency  of  travelers,  which  could 
certainly  not  be  said  of  Ararat  legends.  The  same  general  valuation  may 
be  placed  upon  the  Erzerum  legends.  A  legend  of  this  sort  is  not  believed 
to  be  true,  unless  the  legend  upon  which  it  is  based  is  commonly  believed 
in,  and  it  is  certainly  safe  to  suppose  that  a  majority  of  the  Armenian  people 
accept  the  Old  Testament  legends.    This  is  important,  for  when  a  legend 


46  LOUIS  A.    BOETTICER 

is  not  a  matter  of  implicit  belief  by  a  people  it  has  little  social  value.  The 
elegy  of  Adam  can  not  be  properly  said  to  be  a  legend  at  all. 

The  preceding  pages  point  out  certain  points  of  resemblance,  and 
certain  points  of  difference  between  the  two  words,  legend  and  tradition, 
which  require  to  be  brought  out  at  this  point,  first,  because  of  vague  and 
loose  current  usage,  and  second,  in  order  to  establish  my  own  use  of  these 
terms.  In  the  first  place  they  are  beliefs,  and  here  lies  the  secret  of  their 
social  value.  Let  them  be  disbelieved  in  and  they  may  furnish  material 
for  entertaining  after-dinner  conversation,  but  they  no  more  have  the 
power  of  welding  a  people  together  into  a  nation,  a  caste,  or  a  sect;  they 
no  longer  have  the  power  of  creating  a  common  sentiment  among  a  large 
number  of  people  or  of  creating  a  national  consciousness. 

And  in  the  second  place,  both  the  tradition  and  the  legend  are  passed 
on  from  person  to  person,  and  from  generation  to  generation.  When  a 
tradition  is  defined  as  a  belief  that  is  handed  down  orally  from  father  to 
son,  it  is  not  at  all  differentiated  from  the  legend  which  is  also  a  belief, 
and  which  may  also  be  passed  on  orally  from  generation  to  generation. 
Neither  does  a  legend  or  a  tradition  change  its  character  when  the  meaning 
is  represented  by  symbols  cut  in  rock,  inscribed  on  papyrus,  or  written  on 
paper.    The  event  of  inscription  is  very  often  a  part  of  their  history. 

But  when  it  comes  to  a  question  of  historic  value  we  mark  the  parting 
of  the  ways.  A  tradition,  used  in  the  sense  with  which  we  are  concerned 
here,  is  always  rooted  in  an  indisputable  historic  fact.  Consider  the  tradi- 
tions of  Islam  that  are  centered  about  the  prophet  Mohammed.  They 
may  have  a  thousand  variations,  may  have  embodied  falsehood  after  false- 
hood in  the  course  of  their  transmission  from  place  to  place,  and  from 
generation  to  generation,  as  most  of  them  unquestionably  have,  but  they 
are  traditions,  nevertheless,  because  they  are  associated  with  a  character 
who  is  an  undisputed  historic  figure.  The  refusal  of  St.  Gregory  to  offer 
garlands  to  the  goddess  Anahit,  and  his  imprisonment  in  the  well  during 
a  period  of  thirteen  years  is  a  tradition  because  the  belief  is  associated 
with  a  historic  character.  Compare  this  with  the  beliefs  concerning  Haic, 
Vahakn,  Semiramis  and  Ara,  and  the  distinction  is  clear,  for  these  char- 
acters are  all  mythical.  Artasches  and  Artavasd  are  generally  recognized 
as  historical  kings,  and  are  so  spoken  of  by  Moses.  As  such  the  beliefs 
concerning  them  should  be  classed  as  traditions.  However,  Moses  as  a 
historian  has  been  relegated  to  a  secondary  position  by  Carriere,  who 
gave  the  work  a  critical  examination.  This  would  make  the  beliefs  con- 
cerning Artasches  and  Satenik  and  Artavasd  purely  legendary,  unless 
further  research  establishes  more  reliable  sources  of  which  we  do  not  know. 
The  first  group  therefore  are  legends. 

In  regard  to  the  second  group  of  beliefs  all  having  to  do  with  the 
introduction    of    Christianity,    Bartholomew,    Thaddeus,    Gregory,    and 


INTERPRETATION  AND    CONCLUSIONS  47 

Tiridates  are  unquestionably  historic;  Rhipsime  and  Gaiane  are  mythical; 
the  historic  authenticity  of  Abgar  is  also  questionable.  We  should  there- 
fore speak  of  the  legends  of  Rhipsime,  Gaiane  and  Abgar,  and  of  the  tradi- 
tions of  Bartholomew,  Thaddeus,  Gregory,  and  Tiridates. 

The  Ararat  and  Erzerum  group  are  of  course  legends  with  one  or  two 
exceptions.  The  belief  concerning  the  scorning  of  the  proposal  of  Mo- 
hammed by  the  Persian  king  who  was  encamped  on  the  Euphrates  as 
explaining  the  barrenness  of  the  Garden  of  Eden  certainly  has  to  do  with 
an  historic  figure,  and  perhaps  two.  But  it  is  a  legend,  nevertheless,  be- 
cause both  the  prophet  of  Arabia  and  the  Persian  king  are  accidental 
rather  than  fundamental  to  the  belief.  The  fundamental  basis  of  belief 
is  the  legend  of  the  Garden  of  Eden.  The  elegy  of  Adam  in  explanation 
of  his  sinful  conduct  is  neither  legend  nor  tradition,  and  the  belief  concern- 
ing the  tetagush  and  the  spring  of  Ararat  is  a  superstition.  It  results 
in  a  distinct  type  of  conduct  marking  it  off  from  both  tradition  and  legend. 

I  have  stated  my  conclusions  at  various  places,  and  it  would  be  point- 
less repetition  to  summarize  them  all.  I  shall  therefore  sum  up  only  the  im- 
portant ones.  The  first  is  that  the  legends  and  traditions  of  Part  One 
are  an  important  part  of  a  larger  body  of  Armenian  legends,  traditions, 
folk-songs,  and  folk-lore,  and  that  their  social  value  lies  in  the  power  they 
have  of  creating  a  national  sentiment.  This  national  sentiment  is  the 
direct  result  of  a  social  process  accomplished  through  the  medium  of  the  tra- 
ditions, legends,  and  folk-songs  spoken  of.  An  analysis  of  the  national  sen- 
timent of  ancient  Armenia  would  lead  us  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  made 
up  of  at  least  three  elements:  first,  a  sentiment  of  loyalty  to  the  state;  sec- 
ondly, a  sentiment  of  reverence  amounting  almost  to  worship  for  the  past 
glory  of  the  nation ;  and  thirdly,  a  sentiment  of  love  for  the  country. 

The  last  sentiment  is  an  especially  real  experience  to  all  Armenians. 
Objectified  as  it  was  at  first  in  the  vast  plains,  the  broad  river  valleys, 
the  mountain  ranges,  or  simply  in  the  soil  that  brought  forth  its  vegeta- 
tion, it  came  to  be  objectified  in  a  spirit  of  independence  and  in  the  ideals 
of  freedom  and  strength.  These  two  objects  of  the  national  sentiment  of 
love,  the  one  material,  the  other  immaterial,  are  not,  however,  to  be  dis- 
sociated in  the  social  mind,  as  I  have  dissociated  them  on  paper.  They 
are  inseparable,  the  material  and  the  spiritual,  and  simply  do  not  exist 
apart  from  each  other.  Only  the  emphasis  varies,  symbolized  in  one  case 
by  the  peasant's  kissing  his  native  soil,  and  in  the  other  by  the  far-away 
look  toward  the  summit  of  some  distant  mountain.  And  when  this  senti- 
ment of  love  is  the  most  important  of  those  sentiments  that  go  to  make 
up  a  national  sentiment,  that  is,  when  it  dominates  all  the  others,  holding 
them  in  subjection,  there  has  come  to  be  a  national  self.  A  continuous 
stream  of  consciousness  envelopes  the  national  self,  and  inasmuch  as  it 


48  LOUIS  A.   BOETTIGER 

implies  a  highly-organized  and  well-developed  national  self,  national- 
self-consciousness  is  the  larger  term.  It  may  be  objectified  and  examined 
especially  at  a  time  of  injustice  from  without,  and  even  at  the  time  of  an 
obvious  act  of  injustice  by  the  state  which  usually  results  in  civil  strife. 
The  latter  case  is  illustrative  of  how  one  of  the  sentiments  that  make 
up  the  national  sentiment  may  be  under  the  domination  of  another,  the 
sentiment  of  loyalty  to  the  state  being  subordinate  to  the  sentiment  of  love 
for  the  country  in  this  case. 

That  the  national  self  is  organic,  i.e.,  that  it  is  functional,  a  vital,  liv- 
ing thing  which  grows  and  dies  is  clearly  brought  out  by  the  second  group 
of  legends  considered.  This  is  the  second  general  conclusion.  The  legends 
and  traditions  mentioned  in  this  group  are  of  course  again  part  of  a  larger 
body,  all  of  which  have  to  do  with  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into 
the  country.  The  important  point  is  that  from  this  larger  body  of  beliefs 
there  resulted  a  new  national  sentiment,  new  because  something  had  come 
to  be  incorporated  within  it  which  was  not  there  before.  This  something 
was  a  sentiment  of  loyalty  to  the  church,  evidenced  in  the  readiness  to 
uphold  and  protect  the  church  with  all  its  recognized  encumbrances  of 
hierarchies  and  paraphernalia  against  all  foreign  intrusion,  whether  peace- 
ful or  military  in  character.  With  the  destruction  of  the  state,  this  sen- 
timent of  loyalty  to  the  church  largely  absorbed  the  sentiment  of  loyalty 
to  the  state.  Reverence  for  the  past  glory  of  the  nation  went  on  un- 
changed except  in  so  far  as  the  church  intensified  it  as  a  means  of  intensi- 
fying the  whole  national  sentiment. 

A  loosely  organized,  heterogeneous  group  of  people  can  not  boast 
of  a  national  sentiment,  nor  of  the  united  action  necessary  in  times  of 
national  crisis,  as  when  a  people  go  to  war.  This  united  action  is  only  possi- 
ble where  the  diverse  sentiments  of  a  more  or  less  heterogeneous  people 
have  been  woven  into  a  national  sentiment  of  the  kind  spoken  of.  This 
weaving  process,  as  I  have  shown,  is  essentially  a  social  process,  and  the 
materials  by  means  of  which  it  is  carried  on  are  largely  such  as  I  have 
been  describing,  namely,  the  legends,  traditions,  and  folk-lore  that  have 
somehow  grown  up  among  a  people. 


PART  TWO 
FESTIVALS 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  GREGORIAN  CHURCH 

As  the  materials  of  Part  One  are  part  of  a  larger  mass  of  legends,  tradi- 
tions, and  folk-lore,  the  social  value  of  which  lies  in  their  power  of  creating 
a  national  or  group  sentiment,  so  the  festivals  and  ceremonies  to  be  taken 
up  in  Part  Two  are  part  of  a  larger  mass  of  festivals,  ceremonies,  and  rites 
whose  social  value  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  constitute  a  necessary  vehicle 
of  expression  for  this  same  national  sentiment.  The  festivals  are  a  neces- 
sary counterpart  of  the  legends,  as  the  latter  are  a  necessary  counterpart 
of  the  former.  Activity  is  one  of  the  most  fundamental  of  nature's  laws. 
The  sentiment  of  love  for  an  individual  dies  eventually  in  the  absence 
of  some  formal  mode  of  active  expression.  But  be  the  action  ever  so 
little  a  thing,  such  as  the  laying  of  flowers  upon  the  grave  of  the  dead, 
the  visiting  of  a  shrine,  or  the  sight  of  some  hallowed  spot  of  sacred  memory, 
the  sentiment  is  kept  alive.  To  be  sure  a  sentiment  may  smoulder  for 
a  lifetime,  even  as  a  national  sentiment  may  slumber  for  centuries  without 
a  mode  of  expression,  and  then  all  of  a  sudden  burst  forth  into  a  flame, 
or  awaken  into  life  at  a  mere  suggestion  from  outside.  Bereft  of  statehood, 
the  sentiment  of  loyalty  for  the  state  has  slumbered  for  centuries  within 
the  breast  of  the  Armenian  people,  but  how  often,  how  too  sadly  often, 
has  it  not  suddenly  awakened  into  hot,  new  life  only  to  be  pacified  into 
slumber  again.  But  the  last  glow,  the  little  flicker  at  the  end  is  all  that 
separates  the  living  embers  from  the  dead  ash. 

How  the  Armenian  church  recognized  the  truth  of  this  by  putting  into 
operation  a  thousand  various  modes  of  action  in  which  the  new  national 
sentiment  that  it  created  has  kept  itself  alive  and  fresh,  may  well  serve 
as  an  object  lesson  to  many  another  church.  She  did  not  make  the  mis- 
take of  imposing  an  entirely  new  body  of  festivals  and  ceremonies  upon 
the  people;  she  utilized  the  past  and  carried  over  a  number  of  pagan  festi- 
vals absolutely  intact,  which  she  clothed  with  a  new  meaning  slowly  recog- 
nized by  the  people.  These  form  the  first  group  to  be  considered.  In  the 
course  of  time  she  created  certain  new  festivals  which  constitute  the  sec- 
ond group.  And  then  she  identified  herself  with  all  of  the  ceremonies 
of  common  life,  such  as  betrothal,  marriage,  and  funeral  ceremonies. 

In  this  way  the  Armenian  church  has  become  absolutely  and  insepa- 
rably identified  with  the  life  of  the  people,  and  the  people  in  turn  have 
been  held  together  into  a  nation  which  has  continued  to  give  its  artists 
and  artisans  to  the  world.1  What  is  Armenia?  The  national  Gregorian 
church;  much  as  Louis  XIV,  when  asked  "What  is  the  state?"  replied, 

1  Ormanian  p.  224. 
Bertrand  Bareilles,  preface  to  the  French  edition  of  Ormanian  p.  xviii. 


52  LOUIS  A.    BOETTICER 

"I  am  the  state."  This  is  unquestionably  an  exaggerated  view,  but  not 
as  much  so  as  might  be  supposed,  since  the  social  life  of  the  people  is  so 
completely  bound  up  with  the  church.  The  only  betrothal  and  mar- 
riage recognized  is  that  sanctioned  by  the  church.  Whenever  there  is  a 
common  danger,  as  has  been  the  case  repeatedly  during  the  past  twenty 
years,  the  people  flock  to  the  church  for  protection.  Such  secret  revolution- 
ary propaganda  as  has  been  carried  on  has  been  done  largely  through  the 
church.  The  young  Armenian  who  returns  from  his  academic  life  in  Paris, 
a  sceptic  if  not  an  unbeliever,  and  certainly  opposed  to  the  dogma  and 
ultra-conservatism  of  his  church,  does  not  alienate  himself,  for  he  realizes 
his  utter  impotence  in  any  kind  of  work  for  his  people  should  he  do  so. 
In  spite  of  the  division  of  Armenia  into  three  slices,  Turkish,  Persian, 
and  Russian,  the  church  has  retained  its  hold,  and  if  the  position  of  the 
people  as  subject  to  Turkey,  Persia,  and  Russia  has  placed  her  (the  church) 
at  a  decided  disadvantage  in  coping  with  the  ever  constant  influence 
and  propaganda,  schools,  and  missionaries  of  the  Greek,  Latin,  and  Prot- 
estant churches,  she  has  not  at  all  given  in,  for  the  number  of  Catholic 
Armenians  amounts  to  only  3  per  cent  of  the  number  of  orthodox  Arme- 
nians, while  the  number  of  Protestant  Armenians  is  only  1  per  cent.2 
Considering,  as  I  say,  the  utter  helplessness  of  the  church  in  combating 
outside  influences,  these  figures  indicate  how  closely  the  life  of  the  people 
is  identified  with  her.  Perhaps  her  very  helplessness  has  been  a  source 
of  strength. 

These  facts  together  with  such  little  practices  as  I  have  mentioned 
(and  I  might  also  note  the  custom  of  the  Armenian  peasant  of  crossing 
himself  daily  at  the  altar  of  his  community  church  before  beginning  his 
day  of  toil)3  are  sufficient  to  show  that  the  church  has  been  the  chief  means 
of  keeping  alive  the  currents  of  national  life,  that  it  is  a  national  church, 
and  that  it  has  identified  itself  with  the  common  life  of  the  people.  The 
festivals  and  ceremonies  which  constitute  the  second  part  of  my  paper 
thus  form  the  vehicle  of  expression  of  the  national  sentiment,  and  are  all 
connected  with  the  church. 

The  participation  of  the  laity  in  church  matters,  especially  in  the  elec- 
tion of  its  officials,  is  a  chief  reason  for  the  essential  oneness  of  church 
and  people.  Priests,  bishops,  and  patriarchs,  who  constitute  the  three 
chief  grades  in  the  religious  hierarchy,  are  chosen  by  the  people.4  The 
approval  of  higher  authorities  is  necessary  in  most  cases,  but  this  only 
slightly  detracts  from  the  importance  of  the  role  of  the  people.  A  married 
priest  is  the  religious  head  of  every  parish,  and  he  is  elected  either  by  a 

*  Ormanian  p.  243. 
»  /6td.  p.  177. 

*  Ubicini,  Letters  on  Turkey. 
Ormanian  pp.  151,    152. 


THE   GREGORIAN   CHURCH  53 

direct  process  of  voting  or  by  a  deed  of  presentation.  The  religious  council 
of  the  diocese  proceeds  to  examine  the  ability  and  qualifications  of  the 
candidate,  who  is  ordained  if  his  examination  proves  successful;  if  unsuc- 
cessful, a  new  candidate  must  be  presented,  for  a  bishop  can  not  of  his 
own  initiative  ordain  a  priest.  The  laity  have  no  voice  in  the  election  of 
the  celibate  priesthood,  which  is  only  natural  since  the  celibate  priests 
are  not  in  any  way  connected  with  the  life  of  the  community.  Further- 
more, they  do  not  constitute  a  very  important  element,  for  when  Ormanian 
wrote  in  1911,  there  were  only  400  celibate  priests  as  against  4,000  married 
priests.5 

The  married  priest  is  very  closely  identified  with  his  community.  He 
not  only  makes  a  regular  practice  of  visiting  the  various  households  of 
the  parish,  but  he  is  sole  confessor  of  the  people.6  As  he  officiates  at  masses 
and  church  ceremonies  and  promotes  a  general  participation  in  the  festi- 
vals, so  also  no  betrothal,  marriage,  baptism,  or  funeral  can  be  sanctioned 
without  his  presence.  He  is  as  well  a  kind  of  marriage  agency,  employ- 
ment agency,  and  relief  agency,  acting  always  of  course  in  cooperation 
with  the  council  of  elders  of  his  parish.  A  priest  called  at  the  home  of  an 
Armenian  lady  I  know,  and  remarked  casually  that  he  was  aware  she  had 
a  daughter,  whom  he  was  very  anxious  to  see,  for  there  were  two  young 
men  of  the  community  who  were  very  desirous  to  marry.  So  the  people 
inform  the  priest  of  their  need  and  the  priest  does  all  in  his  power  to  help 
them.  He  does  not  receive  a  regular  compensation,  being  absolutely  de- 
pendent upon  the  voluntary  offerings  of  his  flock  and  the  voluntary  fees 
received  for  official  services  rendered.7  This  works  out  sometimes  to  his 
advantage,  but  more  often  not,  depending  generally  on  whether  his  parish 
is  poverty  stricken  or  well-to-do. 

There  are  several  very  curious  usages  practiced  by  the  married  priest. 
He  is  recruited  from  all  classes  of  society,  but  more  often  there  is  a  suc- 
cession from  father  to  son.8  The  conditions  demanded,  besides  parochial 
election,  are  acquaintance  with  ecclesiastical  and  liturgical  matters,  an 
exemplary  life,  and  the  consent  of  his  wife.  After  his  ordination  he  must 
fast  for  forty  days.  He  then  prepares  himself  for  his  first  mass  by  a  life 
of  retreat  in  the  church,  restricting  himself  to  a  vegetable  diet  for  twenty- 
four  hours.9  The  wife,  who  enjoys  a  certain  precedence  in  society,  observes 
a  customary  abstinence  in  the  absence  of  her  husband.  One  week  or  at 
least  three  days  before  the  celebration  of  the  mass,  he  keeps  away  from 

*Ibid.  p.  173. 

•  Ibid.  p.  141. 

•  Ubicini,  Letters  on  Turkey. 
8  Ormanian  p.  170. 

•  Ibid. 

Ubicini,  Letters  on  Turkey. 
Tavernier  1:498,  499. 


54  LOUIS  A.   BOETTICER 


home,  passing  the  nights  within  the  church.  He  may  engage  in  domestic 
or  even  professional  work  so  long  as  this  does  not  interfere  with  the  duties 
of  his  calling.  Should  his  wife  die,  he  may  not  marry  again  unless  he  lays 
aside  his  priestly  robe,  nor  may  a  priest  ever  marry  a  widow.  These  prac- 
tices are  not  dead  letters,  except  that  the  custom  of  sojourning  within  the 
church  for  three  nights  before  mass  has,  in  Constantinople  at  least,  been 
reduced  to  a  single  night. 

The  bishops  are  chosen  as  chiefs  of  dioceses  by  the  council  of  the  dio- 
cese, six  sevenths  of  whose  members  are  laymen,  the  remainder  being 
ecclesiastics.10  The  patriarchs,  including  the  Katholikos,  the  supreme 
authority  of  the  church  whose  seat  is  at  Etchmiadzin,  the  religious  center 
of  the  nation,  are  chosen  by  an  electoral  assembly  of  the  religious  heads 
(bishops  or  archbishops)  and  lay  deputies  who  are  nominated  by  the  dio- 
ceses as  a  whole.11  The  eight  members  of  the  synod,  which  is  an  advisory 
body  to  the  Katholikos,  and  the  seven  oldest  members  of  the  congregation 
at  Etchmiadzin  have  equal  share  in  voting.  The  electoral  assembly,  so 
constituted,  chooses  two  candidates,  one  of  whom  is  selected  by  the  Czar. 
The  Czar,  after  his  selection  is  made,  sends  a  deputy  to  meet  the  success- 
ful candidate,  who  is  decorated  and  escorted  with  due  ceremony  to  Etch- 
miadzin where  he  is  officially  ordained.  There  are  only  two  patriarchates 
besides  the  see  of  Etchmiadzin,  i.e.,  those  of  Constantinople  and  Jerusalem. 
The  corresponding  patriarchs  are  likewise  chosen  by  a  national  assembly, 
six  sevenths  of  whose  members  belong  to  the  laity.  The  patriarchs  of 
both  Jerusalem  and  of  Constantinople  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  the 
Katholikos  of  Etchmiadzin,  who  is  thus  head  of  the  church,  though  not 
infallible. 

The  site  of  Etchmiadzin  is  the  old  capital  city,  Vagharshapat,  the  ruins 
of  which  are  all  but  washed  away ;  and  it  marks  the  spot  where  St.  Gregory 
in  his  vision  saw  the  descent  of  Jesus  Christ.  Etchmiadzin  means,  "Descent 
of  the  Only  Begotten."  The  particular  spot  is  commemorated  by  the  cen- 
tral altar  of  the  Cathedral,  which  is  the  chief  church  of  the  nation.  This 
Cathedral  is  situated  in  the  center  of  a  huge  court  bounded  in  the  form 
of  a  large  rectangle  by  the  cells  of  the  monks,  the  long  refectory  building, 
the  library,  the  theological  seminary,  and  the  residence  of  the  Katholikos. 
Outside  this  rectangle  are  ranged  buildings  and  open  spaces,  including 
the  garden  of  the  Katholikos,  the  court  for  pilgrims,  the  printing  estab- 
lishment, and  dwellings  for  various  uses,  all  of  which  is  bounded  by  a  huge 
wall  in  the  form  of  a  still  larger  rectangle  about  1,000  feet  in  length  and  700 
feet  in  width.12    The  chapels  of  the  martyrs  are  some  distance  from  the 

10  Ormanian  p.  152. 
"  Ibid. 

iJ  Lynch,  chapter  on  Etchmiadzin. 
Dubois  3:362,  363 


THE   GREGORIAN   CHURCH  55 

monastery,  the  church  of  St.  Gaiane,  commemorating  the  spot  of  her  martyr- 
dom, being  about  one  fourth  of  a  mile  distant,  while  the  church  of  St.  Rhip- 
sime,  which  likewise  honors  the  spot  of  Rhipsime's  martyrdom,  is  about 
three  fourths  of  a  mile  distant.  The  buildings  now  standing  can  hardly 
be  those  built  by  the  saint.13 

Etchmiadzin  has  been  for  many  years  a  place  of  pilgrimage  for  the 
faithful.  There  is  not  only  the  sacred  Cathedral  where  Jesus  Christ  is 
believed  to  have  appeared;  there  is  also  the  chamber  of  holy  relics  in  the 
rear  of  the  Cathedral  which  is  perhaps  the  chief  attraction  and  glory  of 
the  place.  The  most  important  of  the  relics  here  kept  is  a  hand  of  St. 
Gregory,  or  rather  right  arm,  "atch,"  as  it  is  called,  now  preserved  in  a 
silver  case,  and  which  was  considered  at  one  time  to  be  a  necessary  appa- 
nage of  the  patriarchal  dignity.  The  poor  hand  of  the  saint  has  been  the 
cause  of  many  peregrinations  in  consequence.14  One  patriarch  seized 
it  and  carried  it  off  with  him  in  order  to  justify  his  claims.  Another  restole 
it  and  brought  it  back  to  Etchmiadzin,  while  others  have  pretended  pos- 
session of  the  holy  "atch,"  in  order  to  make  good  their  claims.  It  was 
with  this  relic  as  well  as  with  the  holy  chrism  that  consecrations  were 
performed,  which  made  possession  of  it  a  necessary  condition  of  the 
patriarchal  authority.  Another  much  revered  relic  is  the  fragment  of  the 
ark,  which  the  angel  who  appeared  to  St.  Jacob  gave  to  him  as  a  reward 
for  his  perseverance  in  attempting  so  impossible  a  task  as  the  climbing 
of  Ararat.  Still  another  is  the  head  of  the  "holy  spear"  which  was  thrust 
into  the  side  of  Christ  by  the  Roman  soldier  at  Golgotha.15  There  are 
others  of  lesser  importance,  some  of  which  are  believed  to  possess  the  power 
of  effecting  cures. 

Such  in  brief  are  the  broader  and  more  important  facts  relating  to 
the  church,  which  has  thus  come  to  sanction  the  festivals  and  ceremonies 
that  make  up  the  second  part  of  this  thesis.  These,  as  I  have  said,  natu- 
rally divide  themselves  into  three  groups,  first  those  that  have  been  taken 
over  bodily  from  the  past;  second,  new  festivals  and  ceremonies  created 
by  the  church;  and  third  the  ceremonies  of  common  life  with  which  the 
church  has  identified  itself.  In  the  first  group  are  included  the  midsummer 
festival  of  Vartavar,  the  spring  festival,  the  festival  in  commemoration  of 
the  dead,  Fortune-Telling  Eay,  and  the  festival  of  Vartan's  Day.  All  ex 
cept  the  last  have  their  origin  in  pagan  festivals;  each  one  has  been  taken 
over  by  the  church  and  made  its  own. 

i»  See  p.  30  of  this  thesis,  note  32. 
«  Ormanian  p.  74. 

»  Ibid. 

For  the  relation  of  the  church  to  the  Turkish  and  Russian  Governments  see  Lynch  1:269,  also  Ub-- 
cini,  Letters  on  Turkey. 


CHAPTER    II 

PAGAN  FOLK  FESTIVALS 

Section  1.    Vartavar  and  the  Festival  op  Mihr 

Vartavar,  meaning  "flaming  of  the  rose,"  was  celebrated  in  pagan 
times  in  honor  of  Anahit,  goddess  of  chastity,  at  midsummer.  The  cen- 
tral act  of  the  festival  was  the  offering  of  a  dove  and  a  rose  to  her  golden 
image.  With  the  introduction  of  Christianity  the  temple  and  the  image 
were  destroyed,  and  it  may  be  noted  that  upon  the  site  of  the  Temple  of 
Anahit  in  Vagharshapat  was  built  the  Cathedral  of  Etchmiadzin.  This 
would  lead  to  the  strange  conclusion  that  in  the  vision  of  St.  Gregory, 
Jesus  Christ  descended  upon  a  pagan  temple.  The  fact  seems  to  be  that 
this  marvelous  vision  was  seen  by  a  pious  monk  who  published  a  life  of 
St.  Gregory  some  two  or  three  centuries  after  the  Illuminator's  death.1 
But  the  festival  became  the  "Festival  of  the  Transfiguration  of  Christ," 
although  the  name  Vartavar  still  remains,  and  doves  are  still  set  flying.8 

The  festival  is  celebrated  differently  in  various  places.  Upon  the 
mountains  of  Armenia  every  family  brings  a  sheep  for  sacrifice,  adorned 
with  colored  papers  and  pigments,  and  as  the  sheep  approach  the  shrine, 
lighted  candles  are  fixed  upon  their  horns.3  Sheaves  of  gi'ain,  fruit,  flow- 
ers, and  doves  are  also  brought  as  sacrifices,  while  dust  from  beside  the 
altar  is  carried  home  to  children  as  a  talisman  to  help  them  to  learn  their 
A  B  C's.  In  the  absence  of  a  church  on  the  mountainside,  which  is  usually 
the  case,  a  large  white  tent  with  crosses  is  put  up  beside  some  sacred  spring, 
with  which  the  country  abounds.  The  spring  is  necessary,  for  on  this 
day  the  people  amuse  themselves  by  throwing  water  upon  each  other. 
For  this  reason  the  day  is  often  called  Armenian  Water  Day.  After  the 
doves  are  set  flying,  the  priest  sprinkles  the  people,  and  they  in  turn  sprinkle 
water  over  each  other.  This  practice  probably  dates  to  the  legend  of  the 
deluge,  the  Universal  Baptism  with  which  God  cleansed  His  sinful  earth. 
The  dove  and  the  baptism  are  also  suggestive  of  the  baptism  of  Jesus  by 
John  in  the  waters  of  Jordan.  This  part  of  the  festival  is  probably  an  addi- 
tion to  the  pagan  rite,  for  the  sprinkling  of  the  water  is  symbolic  of  love 
and  forgiveness ;  it  is  carried  on  with  much  laughing  and  merry-making. 
The  festival  includes  also  a  kind  of  fair,  for  the  people  have  to  show  what 
progress  they  have  made  during  the  year  in  art  and  the  various  handi- 
crafts. Races,  competitions,  and  games  are  held,  and  the  victors  are 
crowned  with  wreaths  of  roses,  so  that  even  the  rose  continues  to  have 

1  That  is,  Pseudo  Agathangelus. 
=  Raffi  p.  128. 
>  Ibid. 


PAGAN   FOLK    FESTIVALS  57 

an  important  place  in  the  festivities  as  it  had*  in  pagan  days.  The 
sprinkling  of  water,  the  games,  the  races,  show  how  happy  a  time  the  peo- 
ple must  have  on  this  day;  the  exhibition  of  the  year's  accomplishment 
in  handicraft  and  art  points  out  the  more  serious  side;  while  the  essential 
religious  symbolism  is  very  clearly  emphasized.  What  may  also  be  noted 
is  that  there  is  entertainment  for  all,  old  and  young,  serious  and  frivolous. 
The  pious-minded  may  sit  on  the  mountainside  contemplating  the  relig- 
ious aspect  of  it  all;  the  gay  and  light-hearted  may  sprinkle  water  over 
each  other;  the  young  and  strong  may  run  races  and  play  games;  men  and 
women  of  a  practical  turn  of  mind  may  visit  the  fair  and  note  the  progress 
made  during  the  year;  and  children  may  roll  about  on  the  mountainsides 
or  gather  roses,  for  these  are  in  full  bloom  at  this  time. 

The  pagan  spring  festival  in  honor  of  Mihr,  the  god  of  fire,  was  taken 
over  by  the  church  to  commemorate  the  bringing  of  the  Babe  Jesus  to 
the  temple,  where  Mary  sacrificed  two  doves  according  to  the  custom 
of  purification.4  The  ancient  rite  consisted  of  kindling  fires  in  the  open 
market  places  in  honor  of  the  god  Mihr,  and  of  lighting  a  lantern  from 
one  of  the  newly  kindled  fires,  which  was  kept  burning  in  the  temple 
throughout  the  year.  As  now  celebrated,  on  February  26,  every  young 
man  who  has  been  married  within  the  year  brings  a  load  of  aromatic  shrubs, 
making  a  huge  pile  of  them  in  the  yard  of  the  church.  A  religious  service 
is  held  in  the  open  air  at  evening-time,  after  which  the  priest  sets  fire  to 
the  pile.  All  the  villagers,  men,  women,  and  children,  dance  about  the 
fire,  while  boys  and  young  men  show  their  agility  and  courage  by  leaping 
over  it.  When  the  flames  die  down,  each  person  carries  home  a  glowing 
brand  and  places  it  on  the  hearthstone  for  good  luck. 

The  description  of  the  festival  by  Abeghian  shows  how  a  general  cele- 
bration of  this  kind  varies  in  particulars  from  place  to  place.5  On  the 
afternoon  of  the  13th  of  February,6  which  is  the  day  before  the  church  fes- 
tival of  the  purification,  a  pile  of  wood  consisting  usually  of  thorn-wood, 
cane,  and  straw  is  gathered  together  in  the  churchyard.  The  entire  commu- 
nity comes  together  in  the  church  on  the  night  of  the  same  day,  each  per- 
son provided  with  a  candle.  After  the  vespers  all  stand  about  the  pile 
of  shrub  and  wood,  the  newly  married  during  the  year  making  the  first 
row.  The  candles  are  lighted  from  the  church  light,  and  after  the  priest 
has  blessed  the  pile,  it  is  set  ablaze  from  all  sides,  after  which  the  candles 
are  put  out.  As  soon  as  the  fire  has  died  down,  the  candles  are  relighted 
from  the  glowing  embers  which  are  regarded  as  sacred,  and  carried  home 

*  Seklemian's  Tales.     Preface  by  Blackwell. 
»  Abeghian  pp.  72-74. 

•  The  13th  of  February  according  to  the  old  style  calendar  corresponds  to  the  26th  of  February  of 
the  Latin  calender. 


58  LOUIS  A.   BOETTIGER 

where  they  are  used  to  light  a  pile  of  shrub  and  wood  that  has  been  gath- 
ered on  the  roof  of  the  house.  The  young  people  jump  over  the  fire  while 
the  young  women  and  married  women  march  around  it  saying,  "May  it 
not  itch  me,  and  may  I  not  receive  any  scabs,"  taking  care  just  to  singe 
the  border  of  their  dresses.  The  ashes,  as  well  as  the  half-burned  wood- 
stuffs  are  preserved,  or  scattered  in  the  four  corners  of  the  barn,  over  the 
fields  or  in  the  garden,  for  the  ashes  and  flames  of  the  firebrands  are  be- 
lieved to  protect  people  and  cattle  from  sickness  and  the  fruit  trees  from 
worms  and  caterpillars.  In  the  homes  of  the  newly  married  the  festival 
is  celebrated  with  music  and  dance,  the  young  couples  especially  making 
it  a  point  to  dance  about  the  sacred  flames,  while  in  some  places  special 
food  is  prepared  in  honor  of  the  occasion. 

Various  prophesies  are  made  during  the  festival,  for  example,  if  the 
flame  and  smoke  blows  to  the  east,  it  is  a  sign  of  a  good  harvest  for  the 
coming  year,  if  toward  the  west,  a  bad  growth  is  expected. 

In  recent  years  the  religious  authorities  at  Etchmiadzin  printed  the 
following  prohibition  in  the  church  calendar:  "It  is  forbidden  to  run  about 
the  fire."  But  the  festival  is  celebrated  nevertheless.7  That  it  originates 
in  the  pagan  festival  held  in  honor  of  Mihr  there  is  little  doubt,  for  the 
month  of  February  corresponds  to  the  ancient  Armenian  month  Meha- 
kan,  which,  translated  into  modern  Armenian,  Mihragan,  means  belong- 
ing to  Mihr,  or  more  loosely,  the  Festival  of  Mihr. 

Section  2.     The  Day  of  the  Dead  and  Vartan's  Day 

The  festival  in  commemoration  of  the  dead  is  celebrated  on  the  first 
dav  after  Easter,  and  may  be  regarded  as  a  reaction  against  the  lenten 
fasts.  Families  of  Armenians,  loaded  with  picnic  baskets,  packages  of 
food,  and  bottles  of  wine,  flock  to  their  cemeteries  in  great  numbers.  Priests 
are  paid  small  fees  for  standing  over  the  graves  of  the  dead  to  chant  prayers 
for  the  salvation  of  the  departed  souls.  Over  the  graves  of  the  recently 
dead  stand  the  bereaved  relatives  of  the  deceased,  lamenting  loudly  and 
bewailing  a  fate  which  they  know  must  some  day  be  their  own.  A  more 
maudlin  spectacle  could  not  be  imagined.  Here  and  there  are  seated  groups 
of  families  eating  and  drinking  and  laughing  all  the  more  heartily  for  the 
enforced  abstinence  of  the  preceding  weeks ;  while  standing  beside  this  grave 
or  that  is  a  priest  in  black  robe  and  high  hat,  chanting  a  prayer  for  the 
dead,  and  incidentally  earning  his  daily  bread.  Eating  seems  to  be  the 
chief  amusement;  even  the  mourners  eat  after  they  have  faithfully  mourned, 
and  the  priests  too  come  in  for  their  shares  after  all  possible  fees  have 
been  earned.  Altogether  it  is  a  post-lenten  festival  in  the  full  meaning 
of  the  term,  and  much  in  contrast  to  the  wholesome  enjoyment  and  the 


7  Abeghian  p.  72. 


PAGAN   FOLK   FESTIVALS  59 

light-hearted  gaiety  so  characteristic  of  Vartavar.  It  has  been  witnessed 
in  Constantinople  by  Armenians  I  know,  who  have  given  accounts  to  me. 
Whether  or  not  it  is  carried  out  in  this  manner  in  the  villages  and  rural 
districts  I  am  not  aware,  but  I  should  be  very  much  surprised  to 
learn  that  it  was,  for  I  should  certainly  regard  the  festival  in  this 
form  as  a  product  of  the  artificiality  of  city  life.  In  the  absence  of  whole- 
some amusements  and  of  the  community  solidarity  characteristic  of  the 
Armenian  village,  contact  with  city-bred  folk  would  inevitably  result 
in  a  shift  of  standards  of  judgment  and  valuation,  together  with  a  break- 
up in  old  habits  of  thought  and  life;  and  as  the  people  have  no  common 
play-ground,  so  to  speak,  except  the  poor  denuded  cemetery  allotted 
them  by  the  Turkish  government,  one  can  well  excuse  the  ugliness  of 
the  spectacle.  The  Armenian  has  Vartavar,  a  real  festival,  and  need 
not  look  with  shame  upon  this  festival  in  commemoration  of  the  dead. 

This  same  offering  of  sacrifice  for  the  dead  is  carried  on  in  a  variety 
of  ways.  In  Armenian  villages  the  family  of  the  deceased  prepares  a  lamb 
or  a  kid  with  rice,  and  on  the  day  of  the  funeral  pieces  of  it  are  given  to 
the  attendants;  given,  as  they  say,  and  taken,  in  sacrifice  for  the  dead. 
The  practice  in  Constantinople  is  somewhat  different,  although  the  idea 
is  exactly  the  same.  Forty  days  after  the  death  of  an  individual,  or  per- 
haps on  the  anniversary  of  the  death,  the  bereaved  family  prepares  a  lamb 
or  a  kid  with  rice,  which  is  distributed  to  the  people  in  small  pots,  and 
given,  as  they  say,  in  sacrifice  for  the  dead.  The  Greek  custom  in  this 
respect  is  most  absurd.  At  the  head  of  the  casket,  which  is  left  open, 
two  men  march  in  the  funeral  procession  carrying  a  wide  tray  filled  with 
boiled  wheat  and  sugar,  and  trailing  a  piece  of  black  crape.  After  the 
burial  this  is  distributed  to  the  mourners  in  handfuls,  again  in  sacrifice 
for  the  dead.  Libations  set  aside  and  poured  out  in  Roman  days  are  il- 
lustrative of  the  same  thing.  That  these  practices  are  not  Christian  but 
distinct  survivals  of  pagan  festivals  and  customs  is  very  clear. 

The  above  conclusions,  namely,  first  that  the  festival  as  I  described 
it  is  an  aberration  of  city  life,  and  second,  that  although  identified  with 
the  church  it  is  distinctly  pagan  in  character,  are  borne  out  by  Abeghian, 
whose  material,  as  an  Armenian  who  for  many  years  lived  in  the  little  Arme- 
nian village  of  Astapat,  is  distinctly  first-hand.8  Worship  of  the  deceased, 
he  says,  begins  immediately  after  death.  Each  departed  soul,  and  es- 
pecially those  of  elderly  people,  requires  particular  honor  on  the  first 
day  after  death,  and  during  the  ensuing  year.  It  is  for  this  reason  a  great 
misfortune  for  an  Armenian  peasant  not  to  have  a  child.  A  still  greater 
misfortune,  however,  it  is  to  die  in  a  strange  land  where  there  are  none 
to  care  for  the  departed  soul.    That  a  curious  evolution  has  taken  place 

» Ibid,  p   20. 
The  remainder  of  the  paragraph  is  a  free  translation  of  selected  parts  of  pp.  20-22. 


60  LOUIS  A.   BOETTIGER 

in  these  requirements  is  very  clear.  In  the  beginning,  satisfactions  of  a 
material  kind  were  required,  something  to  eat  and  to  drink,  and  accord- 
ingly the  custom  arose  of  placing  bread  upon  the  heart  of  the  dead,  or 
sanctified  bread  in  the  cavity  of  the  mouth  and  incense  in  the  nostrils. 
Then  there  arose  the  idea  of  facilitating  the  journey  of  the  departed  into 
the  beyond,  and  of  making  the  future  life  of  the  soul  a  happier  one.  For 
example,  Armenians  generally  bathe  the  bodies  of  their  dead  in  blessed 
water,  and  wash  the  clothes  of  the  deceased  on  the  day  following  burial  for 
the  purification  of  the  soul  so  that  it  may  arrive  spotless  at  its  destina- 
tion. Since  the  soul  has  been  cleansed  of  all  sin  through  the  symbolic  wash- 
ing of  the  body  and  clothes,  no  more  covering  is  required  for  the  body 
than  a  large  white  cloth.  No  other  color  is  permissible.  Should  the  deceased 
be  more  than  ten  years  of  age,  candles  or  oil  lamps  are  burned  during  eight 
days  over  the  spot  where  the  body  was  bathed  in  order  to  lighten  the 
way  of  the  soul  into  the  beyond.  According  to  old  beliefs,  the  destina- 
tion of  the  departed  soul  is  a  place  of  darkness,  and  hence  two  candles 
are  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  dead  immediately  after  the  bath  in  order 
that  he  may  recognize  his  friends  and  relatives  in  the  world  beyond.  At 
frequent  intervals  during  the  first  year,  food  and  drink  are  brought  to  the 
cemetery,  and  placed  upon  the  grave.  There  is  weeping,  eating,  and  drink- 
ing at  these  times,  and  what  food  is  left  over  is  always  placed  over  the  grave. 

The  souls  of  the  righteous  are  thought  of  as  luminous,  the  wicked 
as  black.  Accordingly  the  blessed  are  called  "spirits  of  light."9  In  order 
to  possess  a  bright  soul  one  must  have  performed  good  works,  of  which 
giving  alms  to  the  poor  is  considered  the  most  important.  Such  spirits 
are  also  called  "generous,"  "charitable."  It  is  a  current  belief  that  the 
blackened  souls  become  brighter  through  the  good  works  of  descendants, 
as  well  as  through  their  prayers.  Offspring  are  thus  especially  desirable, 
and  the  old  Armenian  liturgy,  the  Maschtotz  prepared  by  St.  Mesrob, 
the  inventor  of  the  Armenian  alphabet  in  the  fifth  century,  contains  in- 
numerable prayers  for  the  dead.10  The  prayers  are  short  and  their  power 
is  relative  to  the  frequency  of  repetition  rather  than  to  the  length.  Some 
sort  of  short  prayer  is  repeated  with  every  thought  of  the  dead,  as  for  ex- 
ample, "May  God  have  mercy  upon  his  soul";  "May  his  soul  become 
lightened";  or  only  "The  illuminated  soul." 

Several  days  of  the  year  are  set  apart  for  particular  remembrance  of 
the  dead.11  At  these  times  the  departed  spirits  are  supposed  to  come  down 
from  heaven  and  to  roam  about  the  vicinity  of  their  graves  or  in  the  homes 
of  their  relatives.    On  the  eve  of  these  days  it  is  necessary  to  do  honor  to 

•  Abeghian  p.  22. 

»•  Maschtotz,  St.  Mesrob.    One  third  of  the  book  is  devoted  to  this  purpose, 
u  Ormanian  p.  189. 


PAGAN   FOLK    FESTIVALS  61 

their  memory  with  incense  and  candles,  which  are  regarded  as  offerings. 
The  odor  of  the  incense  is  especially  pleasant  to  spirits,  for  the  incense- 
tree  also  blooms  in  paradise.12  Saturday  night  is  very  commonly  devoted 
to  such  intercession  and  worship.  Incense  is  burned  upon  the  hearth 
while  prayers  are  repeated,  or  a  flame  is  ignited  upon  a  plate  which  is  car- 
ried into  all  the  corners  of  the  house,  or  barn,  or  wherever  it  is  believed 
the  departed  spirit  may  be  wandering.  In  some  places  it  is  customary 
to  maintain  the  "light  of  the  dead"  throughout  the  night  in  order  that 
the  spirits  may  enter  the  house.  If  they  find  the  house  dark  in  looking 
through  the  roof  window,  they  make  away,  cursing.  Water  is  not  drunk 
in  the  dark  during  these  nights,  for  it  is  believed  that  to  do  so  would  be  to 
take  it  away  from  the  thirsty  spirits  of  the  dead. 

On  the  Day  of  the  Dead  the  spirits  are  especially  honored,  for  they 
love  most  to  wander  in  the  neighborhood  of  their  graves.  People  actually 
feel  themselves  to  be  among  the  souls  of  the  dead  on  this  celebration  day. 
The  latter  are  very  happy  to  be  thought  of,  and  are  especially  glad  to  have 
their  graves  blessed  by  the  priests.  But  to  please  them  most  one  must 
bring  wood  and  incense  and  leave  it  to  be  burned  over  their  graves.  Three 
days  the  spirits  remain  upon  the  earth,  after  which  they  return  to  heaven, 
their  visit  having  been  duly  honored.  If  they  come  to  find  themselves 
forgotten,  they  curse  their  relatives  and  fly  away  in  despair.  Occasionally 
they  come  down  to  be  of  service;  especially  is  this  true  of  the  dead  father 
and  his  living  son,  for  the  former  is  especially  remembered,  and  his  grave 
is  regarded  as  holy.  Armenians  swear  by  the  graves,  or  by  the  spirits  of 
their  fathers,  and  call  upon  them  for  help  in  time  of  especial  need.13 

Tavernier  described  the  same  festival  in  his  Voyages  and  noticed 
that  it  was  considered  the  greatest  infamy  to  eat  with  a  "Mordischou," 
the  person  who  washed  the  dead.14  No  single  festival  and  group  of  rele- 
vant beliefs  is  more  instructive  in  showing  how  much  of  Armenian  folk- 
belief  and  custom  is  the  survival  of  paganism. 

There  is  yet  another  festival  of  this  group,  which,  however,  is  not 
to  be  traced  to  paganism,  and  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the 
church  is  connected  with  it  in  the  same  way  and  to  the  same  extent  as  it 
is  with  the  first  three  festivals  considered.  The  festival  is  called  Vartan's 
Day,  and  although  the  church  sanctions  the  festival  and  sets  apart  a  day 
for  the  celebration,  it  comes  about  as  near  being  apart  from  the  church 
as  any  single  festival.  Vartan  was  the  general  of  the  Armenian  army 
defeated  at  the  battle  of  Avarair,  spoken  of  in  Part  One,  by  the  Persian 
fire-worshippers  who  endeavored  to  impose  their  religion  upon  the  Ar- 
menians at  a  time  when  part  of  Armenia  was  under  the  domination  of 

11  Abeghian  p.  23. 

u  Ibid.    This  and  preceding  paragraph  are  a  free  translation  from  selected  sentences  of  pp.  23  and  24. 

"Tavernier  1:507-9. 


62  LOUIS  A.    BOETTIGER 

Persia,  and  the  remainder  tributary  to  Rome.  But  though  defeated  in 
battle,  the  moral  victory,  as  people  now  use  the  term,  was  Armenian,  for 
the  battle  proved  the  utter  failure  of  the  Persians  to  convert  the  Armenian 
people  to  their  religion.15  Vartan  saved  the  nation  for  Gregorian  Chris- 
tianity, and  it  is  significant  that  the  people  look  upon  Vartan  as  saviour 
of  the  nation  rather  than  as  saviour  of  their  religion,  showing  how  the 
religion  was  and  still  is  identified  with  the  nation. 

It  is  in  his  honor  that  the  people  hold  a  festival  on  the  anniversary 
day  of  the  battle  of  Avarair.  School  children  sing  songs  and  wreath 
Vartan's  picture  with  red  flowers.  The  belief  is  that  this  peculiar  kind 
of  red  flower  sprang  up  from  the  blood  of  the  Christian  army.  Recita- 
tions and  national  patriotic  plays  are  given,  and  as  the  children  partici- 
pate in  singing  songs,  reciting  pieces,  and  rendering  plays,  the  older  people 
participate  in  attending  them.16 

Besides  the  belief  of  the  red  flower  there  are  numerous  other  beliefs 
hallowed  by  the  day.  Nightingales  that  fly  over  the  battlefield  are  sup- 
posed to  sing  "Vartan,  Vartan,"  and  there  is  a  species  of  antelope 
with  a  pouch  of  fragrant  musk  under  its  throat  which  is  said  to  have  ac- 
quired its  fragrance  by  browsing  on  herbage  wet  with  the  blood  of  Ar- 
menian heroes.17 

Altogether  it  is  the  kind  of  festival  to  give  expression  to  the  sentiment 
I  have  spoken  of  as  love  for  the  country,  for  its  mountains,  rivers,  and 
valleys,  and  for  its  ideals  of  freedom,  independence,  and  strength.  In  the 
presence  of  the  state  the  festival  probably  would  be  utilized  to  foster 
and  give  expression  to  the  sentiment  of  loyalty  to  the  state.  There  would 
be  specially  chosen  speakers  to  talk  of  patriotism,  waving  of  banners, 
and  carefully  designed  methods  of  instilling  hatred  for  a  real  or  supposed 
enemy,  much  as  French  school  children  have  been  taught  to  hate  English- 
men. But  in  the  absence  of  the  state,  the  sentiment  expressed  must  be 
a  purer  sentiment,  loftier  and  freer,  and  one  can  not  but  regret  that  Var- 
tan's Day  and  similar  festivals  have  been  suppressed  by  the  Turkish  gov- 
ernment.   And  yet,  one  could  not  reasonably  expect  otherwise. 

Section  3.     Fortune-Telling  Day 

Most  charming  and  most  picturesque  of  festivals  is  that  participated 
in  by  the  romantic  Armenian  maidens  on  the  early  dawn  of  Ascension 
Day.18  On  the  eve  of  the  same  day  the  young  girls  who  wish  their  for- 
tunes told,  decorate  a  large  bowl  with  specially  selected  flowers,  after 
which  each  girl  casts  a  token,  a  ring,  a  brooch,  a  thimble,  into  the  bowl. 
Flowers  of  several  kinds  are  then  put  in,  and  the  bowl  is  filled  with  water 

"  Elis6e. 

11  Lidgett,  Ancient  People. 

»  Ibid. 

"  Raffi  d.  158. 


PAGAN   FOLK    FESTIVALS  63 

drawn  from  seven  springs.  Then  they  cover  it  with  an  embroidered  cloth 
and  take  it  by  night  to  the  priest  who  says  a  prayer  over  it.  The  most 
carefully  and  daintily  prepared  bowl  is  then  placed  out  in  the  moonlight, 
open  to  the  stars  where  it  is  left  until  dawn.  At  early  daybreak  of  the  next 
morning,  the  maidens,  furnished  with  provisions  for  the  entire  day,  go 
out  of  the  village  carrying  their  bowl  to  the  side  of  a  spring,  the  foot  of 
a  mountain,  or  into  an  open  field,  gathering  on  the  way  various  kinds  of 
flowers  with  which  they  deck  themselves.  Having  arrived  at  their  place 
of  festival,  they  play  games,  dance,  and  sing,  after  which  they  take  a 
beautiful  little  girl,  too  young  to  tell  where  the  sun  rises,  who  has  been 
previously  chosen  and  gaily  dressed  for  the  occasion,  to  draw  the  various 
articles  out  of  the  bowl.  The  face  of  the  child  is  covered  with  a  richly 
wrought  veil  that  she  may  not  see  what  is  in  the  bowl,  and  she  then  pro- 
ceeds to  withdraw  the  articles  which  she  holds  in  her  hand  one  at  a  time. 
While  this  is  done  some  one  of  the  party  recites  a  charm  song,  and  the 
owner  of  each  token  takes  the  song  which  accompanies  it  as  her  fortune. 
There  are  thousands  of  these  charm  songs,  most  of  which  have  been 
written  especially  for  the  festival,  of  which  I  shall  give  but  a  few. 

1. 

Snowless  hang  the  clouds  to-night, 
Through  the  darkness  comes  a  light; 

On  this  lonely  pillow  now, 
Never  more  shall  sleep  alight. 

2. 
Like  a  star  whose  brightness  grows 
On  the  earth  my  beauty  shows; 

Thou  shalt  long  for  yet,  and  seek 
My  dark  eyes  and  arching  brows. 

3. 

Long  and  lone  this  night  to  me 
Passing  slow  and  wearily; 

Passing  full  of  sighs  and  tears — 
Love,  what  doth  it  bring  to  thee  ? 

4. 
Eden's  smile  my  vineyard  wore, 
Flowers  bloomed,  a  goodly  store; 

Handsome  youth  and  ugly  maid — 
This  was  never  seen  before ! 19 

19  Translated  by  Miss  Boyadjian,  Armenian  Legends  and  Poetry. 
After  the  first  and  third  lines  of  the  charm  song,  the  following  line  is  sung,  which  I  give  in  the  German 
of  Abeghian: 

"Liebe  Rose  meine,  Hebe,  Hebe." 
and  after  the  second  and  fourth  lines: 

"Liebe  Blume  meine,  liebe,  liebe."     (Abeghian  p.  65.) 
There  are  thousands  of  similarly  constructed  folk-songs  treating  a  variety  of  subjects  current  among  the 
people,  many  of  which  have  been  collected  by  an  Armenian  by  the  name  of  Tcheraz,  whose  book,  unfor- 
tunately, I  have  not  been  able  to  obtain.     Miss  Boyadjian  has  collected  a  few  of  them  in  her  Armenian 


64  LOUIS  A.    BOETTIGER 

Thus  each  one  carries  its  bit  of  prophesy,  daintily  and  prettily  ex- 
pressed, which  when  sung  at  the  foot  of  some  mountain,  in  the  bright 
eastern  sunlight  of  the  morning,  while  a  little  child  is  holding  tokens  be- 
side a  bowl  surrounded  by  the  group  of  benowered  maidens,  makes  as 
complete  and  charming  a  picture  as  one  could  well  imagine. 

Many  curious  beliefs,  superstitions,  customs,  and  legends  are  direct- 
ly related  to  Ascension  Day.  It  is  believed,  for  example,  that  on  the  eve 
of  this  day  the  water  of  the  springs,  brooks,  and  rivers  lies  peacefully 
motionless  for  a  single  moment  during  the  night.  At  the  same  moment 
heaven  and  earth,  mountain  and  stone,  trees  and  flowers  beckon  and  con- 
gratulate one  another.  First  heaven  congratulates  and  kisses  the  earth, 
then  one  star  beckons  to  another,  one  flower  to  another,  and  so  forth  until 
all  of  nature's  objects  have  expressed  their  mutual  good  feeling.  Even 
plants  and  "soulless"  objects  receive  the  gift  of  speech  and  share  their 
secrets  one  with  the  other  at  this  time.  He  who  hides  himself  in  a  stone 
crevice  of  the  mountainside  may  listen  to  the  conversation  of  stones  and 
flowers,  and  understand  what  they  tell  each  other.  They  tell  on  this  night 
what  sort  of  sicknesses  they  and  the  springs  will  heal,  and  many  people 
endeavor  to  attend  at  this  moment,  but  only  a  few  succeed.20 

At  midnight  the  waters  are  believed  to  have  the  power  of  healing, 
and  people  bathe  themselves  in  the  streams.  As  the  children  are  not  to 
be  troubled  during  the  night,  water  is  warmed  for  them  the  next  morning, 
bits  of  grass  are  thrown  in  and  the  children  are  bathed.  During  the  magic 
moment  the  door  of  the  cavern  of  "Maher,"  the  revered  hero  god  who 
dwells  upon  earth,  is  opened;  and  one  may  enter  to  see  him,  his  steed, 
and  the  "wheel  of  the  starred  heavens"  or  the  wheel  of  fate.  In  one  of 
the  national  epics  (David  of  Sassun)  Maher  is  represented  as  the  strong- 
est of  the  heroes,  and  is  supposed  to  dwell  in  a  rocky  cave  in  the  vicinity 
of  Van21  (probably  the  rock  of  Van).  In  this  cave  all  of  the  world's  riches 
are  heaped  up,  and  the  "wheel  of  the  world."  the  wheel  of  fate  which  con- 
stantly turns  assigning  to  people  their  destinies,  stands  there.  Maher 
looks  continually  at  the  wheel  and  if  it  should  stand  still,  he  comes  out 
of  his  cavern  to  ravage  the  world.  The  door  of  the  cave  is  made  of  stone 
and  covered  with  cuneiform  inscriptions.  It  is  locked  during  the  entire 
year  except  for  the  night  of  the  ascension  of  Christ,  when  it  is  opened 
during  the  single  magic  moment.  Whosoever  perceives  this  moment 
may  step  into  the  cave  and  take  as  much  gold  as  he  pleases.  The  idea 
of  the  "wheel  of  fortune"  is  considerably  extant,  although  it  is  not  always 
understood  as  separated  from  heaven  and  connected  with  Maher.22    That 

20  Abeghian  pp.  61-62. 

41  World's  Great  Classic  Series.     Section  on  Armenian  literature,  with  introduction  by  Robert  Arnot. 
See  David  of  Sassun  pp.  57-79. 
"Abeghian  p.  51,  52. 
Emin,  Ancient  Armenian  Legends. 


PAGAN   FOLK    FESTIVALS  65 

the  idea  of  fate' or  of  fortune  is  generally  associated  with  the  day,  not  only 
by  romantic  maidens,  but  by  the  people,  is  very  evident. 

The  flowing  waters  are  believed  to  change  into  gold  during  the  silent 
minute,  and  if  one  places  an  object  in  the  water  and  wishes  at  the  same 
time  that  it  become  gold,  the  object  turns  to  gold.  Accordingly  the  young 
men  and  women  go  to  the  springs  and  rivers  in  order  to  draw  water,  trust- 
ing their  fates  that  they  may  select  the  happy  moment.  Superstitions 
and  magic  are  not  lacking,  for  while  one  member  of  a  party  seats  himself 
upon  a  pair  of  fire-tongs  in  the  fashion  of  a  rider,  another  performs  like- 
wise upon  a  long-handled  spit.  The  iron  tools  are  also  regarded  as  a  nec- 
essary protection  against  the  calls  that  one  hears  behind  after  the  water 
has  been  drawn,  for  if  one  should  look  back  perchance,  he  would  surely 
fall  under  the  influence  of  the  evil  spirits.  The  oldest  of  the  party  car- 
ries a  gourd  flask  full  of  wheat  and  barley,  which  is  poured  into  the  stream 
towards  midnight  with  the  words  "I  give  you  wheat  and  barley;  you  give 
me  everything  that  is  good.' '  Thereupon  he  fills  the  gourd  flask  with  water, 
and  the  party  hurries  homeward  to  discover  the  gold.23 

The  fortune-telling  festival  is  given  by  Abeghian  as  he  observed  it  in 
his  home  village,  and  I  shall  give  a  free  translation  of  his  account  at  this 
point  because  of  a  few  interesting  variations.  In  Astapet,  the  festival 
is  called  the  "Festival  of  the  Mother  of  Flowers."  On  the  day  before  Ascen- 
sion Day  the  girls  and  young  women  of  the  village  divide  themselves  into 
two  groups,  one  to  gather  special  sorts  of  flowers  from  the  mountainside, 
while  the  other  goes  to  "steal"  water  from  seven  springs,  or  seven  rivers. 
The  "thieves"  must  not  see  each  other,  nor  must  the  people  of  the  village 
know  aught  of  what  is  happening.  Having  filled  their  vessels  with  water, 
each  throws  a  stone  into  the  spring  and  then  they  turn  back,  taking  care 
neither  to  look  about,  to  set  down  their  vessels,  nor  to  talk.  They  imagine 
that  the  mountains,  the  valleys,  trees,  and  meadows  call  out  behind  them 
and  if  they  should  turn  about  they  would  be  turned  to  stone.24 

At  night  of  the  same  day  the  "water  thieves"  and  flower  gatherers 
meet  together  in  a  garden  to  prepare  the  "Havgir"  or  magic  bowl  in  which 
is  poured  the  water  from  the  seven  springs,  and  in  which  seven  stones 
from  the  seven  sources,  together  with  leaves  of  the  gathered  flowers  are 
dropped.  Each  one  who  wishes  her  fortune  told  now  throws  in  a  charm 
token,  such  as  mentioned  before.  Those  who  are  not  present  send  their 
tokens  in  order  to  have  them  thrown  into  the  "Havgir"  by  others.  The 
bowl  is  then  adorned  with  flowers,  after  which  the  "Vicak"   meaning 

M  Abeghian  p.  62. 

«  These  beliefs  are  analogous  to  those  in  connection  with  the  bringing  of  healing  water,  or  the  water 
of  perpetual  life,  the  source  of  which  is  guarded  by  monsters,  snakes,  and  scorpions.  The  hero  steals  cau- 
tiously to  the  source  in  order  not  to  be  observed  by  the  watchmen,  fills  his  vessel  with  water  and  hurries 
away,  for  the  mountains  and  trees  call  out  to  warn  the  guardians  of  the  source  who  awake  and  follow 
the  hero.     (Ibid.  p.  63.) 


66  LOUIS   A.    BOETTIGER 

destiny  or  fate,  is  prepared.  This  consists  of  two  pieces  of  wood  tied  together 
in  the  form  of  a  cross,  which  is  dressed  and  adorned  with  jewels  and  pearls  to 
make  it  appear  as  a  newly-married  doll-bride.  The  "Vicak"  is  fastened 
to  the  "Havgir,"  and  both  are  placed  under  the  stars,  in  order  that  these 
who  are  the  real  destinies,  may  work  the  proper  magic  upon  the  charm 
tokens.25  A  few  girls  guard  it  during  the  whole  night  against  the  young 
men  who  try  to  steal  it. 

Early  the  next  morning  the  maidens  gather  together  in  the  garden 
laden  with  food  baskets  and  prepared  to  make  a  day  of  it.  The  "Havgir" 
and  strangely  fashioned  "Vicak"  are  carried  to  a  nearby  spring,  the  young 
girls  decking  themselves  with  flowers  as  they  go.  The  spring  is  decorated 
about  with  flowers,  green  leaves,  and  branches,  and  the  "Havgir"  is  placed 
in  the  middle,  and  then  after  they  have  prepared  everything  and  eaten, 
the  oldest  among  them  takes  the  "Vicak,"  kisses  it,  gives  it  to  another, 
who  does  likewise,  and  so  it  passes  from  hand  to  hand.  Finally  a  seven- 
year-old  girl  receives  it.  She  sets  herself  in  the  middle  of  the  group  and 
holds  the  "Vicak"  while  the  "Havgir"  stands  before  her.  The  little  girl 
is  called  "bride,"  is  the  interpreter  of  the  "Vicak"  and  is  specially  selected 
and  dressed  for  the  occasion.  When  she  has  received  the  "Vicak"  a  red 
veil  is  passed  over  both,  and  all  is  ready  for  the  central  event  of  the  festi- 
val. A  charm  song  is  sung  by  the  group,  and  after  each  stanza  the  "bride" 
draws  a  token  from  the  vessel.  The  preceding  verse  reveals  the  fate  of 
the  one  to  whom  the  token  belongs.26 

The  fortune-telling  festival  of  Ascension  morning  stands  quite  alone. 
Bodeful  of  the  future  and  suggestive  of  the  past,  it  can  not  but  have  a 
serious  tenor,  for  there  are  maidens  whose  lovers  have  not  been  born,  as 
there  are  also  sadder  ones.  Perhaps  they  do  not  take  their  verses  very 
seriously.  Whether  they  do  or  not  there  is  always  the  charm  of  sunrise 
colors,  and  the  out-of-doors  that  makes  it  as  beautiful  as  it  is  romantic. 
The  best  of  the  future,  their  brightest  hope,  the  best  of  the  present,  warmth 
of  sunshine  and  color,  and  the  best  of  the  past,  their  golden  dreams  of 
youth,  are  brought  together  on  this  day  and  given  a  common  expression 
in  a  way  that  must  charm  them  as  it  charms  the  observer.  Festivals  to 
be  perfect  festivals  must  be  out-of-doors  and  the  day  must  be  bright. 

*»  This  part  of  the  festivities  is  also  accompanied  with  song.  In  Astapet  the  following  song  is  sung 
by  way  of  introduction: 

"Holt  einen  grossen  Meister, 

Lasset  ihn  den  Hochzeitsrock  meines  geliebten  zuschneiden 

Die  Sonne  sei  der  Stoff 

Der  Mond  diene  als  Futter. 

Stellt  aus  Wolken  die  Einfassung  her, 

Wickelt  aus  dem  Meer  Seidengarn, 

Befestigt  die  Sterne  in  einer  Reihe  als  Knopfe, 

Naht  die  ganze  Liebe  hinein."  (Abeghian  p.  64.) 
2«  Abeghian  pp.  63-66. 


CHAPTER    III 
CHRISTIAN  FOLK  FESTIVALS 

The  second  group  of  festivals  comprises  those  newly  created  by  the 
church,  such  as  the  Blessing  of  the  Grapes,  New  Year,  Easter,  and  Christ- 
mas. I  wish  also  to  include  in  this  group  a  few  of  the  peculiarly  char- 
acteristic church  ceremonies  which  also  have  a  distinct  festival  value 
for  the  people,  i.e.,  the  ceremony  of  the  "Washing  of  Feet"  on  Maundy 
Thursday,  "Khatchanguist"  or  the  "Blessing  of  Water,"  the  consecra- 
tion of  the  Katholikos,  and  the  manufacture  of  the  "holy  oil." 

Section  1.     Christmas,  Easter,  and  New  Year 

The  service  of  the  church  on  any  one  of  the  festival  days  is  exclusively 
connected  with  the  divine  mystery,  so  called.  These  include  the  Assump- 
tion, or  Immaculate  Conception,  celebrated  by  the  people  in  the  festi- 
val "the  Blessing  of  the  Grapes";  the  miraculous  birth,  which  corresponds 
to  the  Christmas  festival;  the  Transfiguration,  or  the  folk-festival  Var- 
tavar;  the  Redemption,  to  which  the  Easter  festival  corresponds;  and 
the  Resurrection,  including  Ascension  or  Fortune-Telling  Day.  There 
are  other  festivals  celebrated  by  the  church,  such  as  the  festival  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  and  of  the  Holy  Church,  which  I  omit  because  there  is  not 
a  corresponding  social  expression.  Grand  mass  is  said  at  the  church,  and 
the  particular  passages  of  scripture  that  have  a  direct  bearing  on  the  oc- 
casion are  read.  The  Armenian  calendar  is  curious  in  that  many  of  the 
festivals  occupy  a  succession  of  days;  there  are,  for  example,  39  days  for 
the  Resurrection,  3  daj's  for  the  Transfiguration,  10  days  for  the  Ascen- 
sion, etc.,  which  make  up  a  grand  total  of  136  days  in  the  year  to  which 
festivals  are  assigned.  As  there  are  160  days  devoted  to  abstinence,  117 
of  which  are  liturgical  abstinence,  that  is,  days  of  penitence  mentioned 
in  the  liturgy,  there  are  left  only  112  days  for  the  commemoration  of  saints, 
which  have  necessarily  to  be  grouped  together,  since  there  are  more  than 
112  saints.1  Because,  therefore,  of  the  continuity  of  festival  days,  one 
could  not  expect  any  one  of  the  festivals  to  have  any  social  value  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  church  service.  But  there  is  never  any  conflict 
between  the  services  of  the  church  and  the  festivities  without,  which 
are  thus  sanctioned  by  the  church  and  in  many  cases  directed  and  car- 
ried out  by  church  officials.  It  has  been  noticed  that  the  blessing  of  the 
priest  was  secured  for  the  magic  bowl,  before  it  was  placed  underneath 
the  stars  on  the  eve  of  Ascension  Day. 

The  festival  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  or  the  "Blessing  of  the  Grapes,"  is  more 
actively  participated  in  by  the  church.     It  may  be  designed  to  keep  the 

1  Ormanian  pp.  189-90. 


68  LOUIS  A.   BOETTIGER 

people  from  eating  green  grapes,  but  more  probably  was  intended  to  give 
a  social  expression  to  an  otherwise  dull  and  very  monotonous  church  cere- 
mony. The  people  are  all  expected  to  maintain  a  strict  abstinence  from 
eating  grapes  until  the  middle  of  August,  the  day  set  apart  for  the  festival. 
The  grapes  are  then  gathered  in  great  quantities,  some  of  which  are  carried 
to  the  church  and  placed  on  a  large  tray,  which  is  set  at  the  foot  of  the  altar. 
After  the  ceremony  of  the  church,  the  priest  turns  to  the  tray  of  grapes 
before  him,  which  he  blesses  with  his  cross.  The  tray  is  then  taken  to  the 
door  of  the  church,  where  each  member  of  the  congregation  is  given  a 
bunch  as  he  passes  out.  The  fast  is  thus  broken  with  the  taste  of  "blessed 
grapes,"  and  there  is  no  end  of  grape  eating  on  that  day.  During  the  re- 
mainder of  the  day  every  woman  named  Mary,  or  named  with  a  possible 
attribute  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  as  "Kudsa,"  meaning  "saintly,"  or  "Dirouhi," 
meaning  "Mother  of  the  Lord,"  keeps  open  house  for  the  friends  who  drop 
in  to  eat  grapes  and  to  congratulate  her.  In  rural  places  or  villages  where 
vineyards  are  abundant,  social  groups  may  be  seen  eating  grapes  from 
the  vines  while  talking  or  playing  as  they  are  inclined.  Grapes  ripen 
earlier  in  some  parts  of  Armenia  than  in  others,  and  where  this  is  true 
the  festival  is  merged  with  the  festival  of  Vartavar.2 

For  the  festival  of  New  Year's  Eve  no  religious  cooperation  whatever 
is  necessary;  it  comes  as  near  to  being  distinct  from  the  church  as  any 
of  the  Armenian  festivals.  The  preparation  consists  largely  in  making 
or  purchasing  gifts  for  the  various  members  of  the  family,  in  cracking 
bowls  of  nuts  and  getting  all  kinds  of  dried  fruits  ready.  Armenian  and 
Greek  New  Year's  Eve  fall  on  the  same  night,  and  in  Constantinople  there 
is  much  agitation  and  animation  in  the  streets.  Singing  and  music  fill 
the  air,  and  as  soon  as  dusk  falls,  groups  of  boys,  some  carrying  small  lan- 
terns, others  provided  with  tom-toms  or  hand-organs,  begin  the  circuit 
of  the  streets.  Thus  they  go  from  house  to  house  singing  the  New  Year's 
song  and  playing  their  hand-organs,  receiving  pennies  as  they  go.  After 
the  boys  have  passed  along,  the  porters,  watchmen,  and  firemen  make 
a  noisy  procession  down  the  streets,  they  too  playing  hand-organs  and 
stopping  at  one  house  after  another  where  they  receive  a  drink,  some 
sweets  and  nuts,  and  most  important  of  all,  a  tip.  As  midnight  approaches, 
the  excitement  increases;  the  pounding  of  the  tom-toms  becomes  unbear- 
able, all  the  organs  of  the  neighborhood  are  making  music,  and  there 
is  such  a  noise  of  singing,  shouting,  and  laughing  as  can  be  compared  only 
to  a  night  of  political  election.  Inside  the  homes  of  the  better-to-do,  the 
children  are  put  to  bed  for  a  time  while  the  enormous  New  Year's  table 

*  For  the  ritual  side  of  this  festival,  the  church  ceremony  known  as  the  Blessing  of  the  Crops,  or  the 
Blessing  of  Harvest,  and  the  prayers  in  connection  therewith,  F.  C  Conybeare's  Ritual  Armenorum,  and  St. 
Mesrob's  Maschtotz  may  be  consulted.  The  social  side  I  have  gotten  from  my  wife  who  has  taken  part 
in  the  festival  several  times. 


CHRISTIAN   FOLK    FESTIVALS  69 

is  set.  Besides  several  specially  prepared  New  Year's  dishes,  every  home 
must  be  provided  with  a  dish  of  every  kind  of  fruit,  dried  or  fresh.  Small 
candles  are  stuck  around  the  plates,  and  the  presents  are  heaped  up  on 
a  side  table.  At  midnight  the  candles  are  all  lit,  and  the  family  ranges 
itself  around  the  table  while  the  eldest,  usually  the  grandmother,  blesses 
all  and  prays.  After  the  prayer  she  wishes  to  all  the  best  things  for  the 
coming  year,  for  the  young  ladies  good  husbands,  for  the  young  men  pros- 
perity and  good  wives,  happiness  for  the  little  children,  and  comfort  and 
health  for  the  older  ones.  These  wishes  having  been  given,  all  kiss  the 
hands  of  the  older  members  of  the  family,  after  which  the  children  kiss 
each  others'  hands.  The  presents  are  exchanged;  fruits,  candies,  and  nuts 
are  partaken  of,  and  the  fun  goes  on  until  dawn.3  In  the  interior  of  Ar- 
menia, two  elders  of  the  church  go  from  door  to  door  of  the  more  fortunate 
ones  on  the  day  before  New  Year,  carrying  bags  which  they  fill  with  the 
offerings  received  at  every  house.  These  are  carefully  parceled  out  and 
at  dusk  are  left  at  the  doors  of  poor  families  who  would  otherwise  have  no 
New  Year's  cheer. 

The  church  makes  up  amply  in  the  Easter  festival  for  any  lack  of  par- 
ticipation at  New  Year.  Forty-eight  days  of  rigid  lenten  abstinence, 
during  which  time  no  meat  is  eaten,  precede  the  festivities  of  Easter  Day. 
The  first  two  or  three  days  of  the  Holy  Week  are  given  over  to  houseclean- 
ing,  which  however  must  be  finished  by  Thursday  in  order  that  the  people 
may  attend  the  ceremonies  at  church  which  continue  until  Easter  Day. 
On  Thursday  afternoon  "the  Washing  of  the  Feet,"  to  be  described  later, 
commences,  and  the  service  continues  until  past  midnight.  On  Saturday 
all  go  to  the  bath,  which  is  made  an  essential  part  of  the  week's  celebra- 
tions, and  on  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  the  real  Easter  service,  called 
the  Lighting  of  the  Lights,  begins.  The  church  is  first  illuminated  on 
Easter  Eve,  for  on  the  three  preceding  days  of  mourning  and  sorrow  the 
altar  shrine  is  kept  closed  and  no  candles  are  lit.  Even  the  congregation 
holds  lighted  wax  candles  while  the  triumphal  songs  are  chanted  by  the 
robed  choir  of  little  boys. 

At  the  evening  meal  of  the  day  before  Easter  the  lenten  fast  is  partly 
broken  by  eating  fish  and  boiled  eggs,  but  no  meat.4  The  denial  of  the 
flesh  recommences,  however,  at  bedtime,  for  not  a  morsel  is  eaten  until 
•Easter  midday.  Early  dawn  sees  the  people  putting  on  their  new  clothes, 
especially  new  shoes  which  are  considered  a  necessity  on  this  day,  and 
all,  newly  attired,  go  to  church  where  communion  is  celebrated.  The  church 
is  usually  filled  with  flowers  and  its  most  brilliant  ornaments  are  displayed, 

*  A  very  common  custom,  especially  in  the  interior  villages  of  Armenia,  is  to  give  a  lighted  candle 
and  an  apple  or  orange  in  which  small  silver  coins  have  been  stuck,  as  gifts  to  the  children.  This  is  done 
by  the  eldest  member  of  the  family,  usually  the  grandmother,  at  the  time  the  younger  ones  come  up 
to  kiss  her  hand  and  receive  her  blessing. 

4  For  a  description  of  the  Easter  and  Christmas  fasts,  see  Tavernier,  Voyages  1:497-98. 


70  LOUIS  A.   BOETTIGER 

the  service  ending  at  midday  in  time  for  the  usual  feast  of  stuffed  roast 
lamb,  the  customary  red  eggs,  and  the  egg  bread  made  only  at  Easter 
time.  In  the  afternoon  the  men  visit  from  house  to  house  and  something 
dainty  is  always  served,  a  cocktail  or  a  cup  of  coffee  with  sweets  like  Turk- 
ish delight  or  bonbons.  The  formula  repeated  by  the  guest  upon  enter- 
ing a  house  is  always  the  same;  "Christ  is  risen  from  the  dead,"  he 
exclaims,  and  is  answered  by  the  host  with  the  usual  formula,  "Blessed 
is  the  resurrection  of  Christ." 

Perhaps  the  boys  enjoy  Easter  most  of  all.  Provided  with  red  Easter 
eggs,  they  collect  in  groups,  whereupon  there  follows  a  most  vivacious 
competition  to  win  each  other's  eggs  by  clashing  them  together.  The 
champion  egg  is  used  until  it  is  broken,  when  a  new  champion  is  quickly 
brought  forth.  This  process  continues  as  long  as  there  are  two  or  more 
unbroken  eggs,  the  game  being  won  when  all  of  the  broken  eggs  are  in  the 
possession  of  the  boy  who  holds  the  champion  egg.  Picnic  day,  or  the 
"Day  of  the  Dead,"  follows  Easter  Day,  as  I  have  described  it,  and  it  is 
singularly  strange  that  a  "day  of  resurrection"  should  be  followed  by  a 
"day  of  the  dead,"  when  prayers  are  said  and  offerings  given  in  sacrifice 
for  the  departed.  But  people  are  not  mindful  of  such  little  incongrui- 
ties ;  they  are  simple  and  carry  out  the  festival  celebrated  by  their  fathers, 
much  as  their  fathers  celebrated  it. 

The  week  before  Christmas  is  likewise  devoted  to  a  thorough  house- 
cleaning  by  the  Armenian  housewife,  and  on  the  day  before,  special  dishes 
are  prepared  for  the  next  day's  feast.  Again  there  is  the  customary  bath 
which  is  observed  by  all  the  members  of  the  household.  On  Christmas 
Eve  the  abstinence  of  the  preceding  days  is  partly  broken,  usually  with 
fried  fish,  lettuce,  and  boiled  spinach.  Boiled  spinach  is  the  rule  because 
it  is  believed  that  this  dish  made  up  the  supper  of  the  Virgin  Mary  on  the 
eve  of  Christ's  birth.  At  church  special  vespers  are  sung  and  there  is  much 
emphasis  laid  upon  special  selections  from  the  prophets  which  are  also  sung. 
An  hour  before  dawn  the  sexton  alone,  or  with  a  group  of  choir  boys,  goes 
from  door  to  door  singing  what  is  called  "the  good  tidings."  It  is  the  sig- 
nal for  the  faithful  to  awake,  don  their  best  clothes  and  go  to  church' again 
without  eating  breakfast.  The  holy  bread  and  wine  are  not  to  be  profaned 
by  the  people  having  eaten  a  breakfast  of  ordinary  food,  with  the  conse- 
quence that  not  a  few  faint  during  the  service,  even  as  at  Easter  time.  But 
the  ceremony  is  finished  by  half  past  ten,  after  which  the  women  go  home  to 
prepare  the  midday  feast  while  the  men  visit  the  homes  of  their  friends.  The 
never-failing  formula  of  the  guest  upon  entering  the  house  of  a  friend 
is,  "Christ  is  born  and  manifested  to-day,"  which  is  responded  to  by  the  host 
with  "Blessed  is  the  manifestation  of  Christ."  Each  visit  lasts  about 
fifteen  minutes  and  sweets  and  coffee  are  served.    At  midday  the  Christmas 


CHRISTIAN    FOLK    FESTIVALS  71 

feast  is  partaken  of,  all  make  merry  around  the  table,  and  in  the  after- 
noon more  calls  are  paid  and  received.  The  festivities  are  observed  for 
three  days,  the  third  being  ladies'  day,  which  is  devoted  by  the  ladies 
to  giving  and  receiving  visits.  They  offer  their  salutations  and  good  wishes 
to  each  other,  eating  dainties  even  as  the  men.  Shops  and  business  places 
of  Armenians  are  usually  kept  closed  for  three  days.5 

There  is  thus  considerable  similarity  between  Easter  and  the  Christ- 
mas festivities,  which  is  probably  due  to  more  or  less  sameness  in  the 
church  ceremonies.  These  ceremonies,  always  well  attended,  are  made 
attractive  to  the  people  by  beautiful  displays  of  flowers,  vested  choir 
boys,  the  charm  of  whose  singing  can  only  be  understood  by  those  who 
have  heard  them;  also  by  special  singing,  not  by  the  congregation,  but 
by  those  who  can  sing,  and  with  such  enticing  little  additions  as  the  Light- 
ing of  Lights.  The  services  are  thus  as  much  and  as  real  a  part  of  the  day's 
rejoicings  as  the  feasts  and  social  visits,  and  if  they  are  designed  conscious- 
ly or  unconsciously  to  give  active  expression  to  the  sentiment  of  loyalty 
to  the  church  one  must  admit  that  the  expression  is  a  perfectly  free 
and  natural  one.  Abstinences  do  not  make  the  festivities  attractive, 
to  be  sure,  and  there  are  more  unfortunate  communities  who  can  not 
afford  so  lavish  a  display  as  others ;  but  flowers  need  only  to  be  picked  from 
the  fields,  and  boys  there  are  always,  even  in  the  poorest  churches.  The 
holiday  rejoicing  has  somewhat  more  of  the  serious  blend  which  is  to  be 
contrasted  with  the  more  perfect  gaiety  of  New  Year's  Day,  and  is  probably 
due  to  the  weightiness  of  its  religious  significance  of  which  one  is  constant- 
ly reminded,  not  only  by  the  services  at  the  church  but  also  by  the  sal- 
utations of  visitors  and  the  necessary  replies,  always  the  same.  But  even 
the  gaiety  of  New  Year  is  not  to  be  compared  with  the  perfect  lightness  and 
freedom  of  merriment  that  characterize  some  aspects  of  Vartavar,  nor  do 
any  of  the  Christian  folk  festivals   have  the  completeness  of  Vartavar. 

Section  2.     Special  Church  Ceremonies 

Together  with  this  second  group  of  festivals  including  as  they  do 
Christmas,  Easter,  New  Year,  and  the  Blessing  of  the  Grapes,  I  wish 
to  include  a  short  series  of  church  ceremonies  all  of  which  have  a  very 
distinct  festival  value,  beside  their  value  in  being  singularly  character- 
istic of  the  Armenian  church.  They  are  distinctly  different  from  the  fes- 
tivals of  the  preceding  section,  in  that  the  festivities  are  incidental  to  a 
ceremony  peculiar  to  the  Armenian  church.  The  "Washing  of  Feet," 
the  "Blessing  of  the  Water,"  the  consecration  of  the  Katholikos,  and  the 
manufacture  of  the  holy  oil,  are  those  I  desire  to  describe. 

5  The  festivals  of  New  Year's  Day,  Easter,  and  Christmas,  I  have  described  as  related  to  me  by  my 
wife  who  has  celebrated  them  in  company  with  others  in  Constantinople.  Such  variations  practiced  in 
the  interior  of  Armenia  as  I  am  aware  of,  I  have  indicated. 


72  LOUIS  A.   BOETTIGER 

The  "Washing  of  Feet"  occurs  on  Maundy  Thursday,  three  days 
before  Easter.6  This  day  is  the  first  of  three  successive  days  of  mourning 
spoken  of,  during  which  the  altar  is  closed,  and  no  lights  are  lit.  After  the 
mass  the  bishop  puts  away  his  brocaded  robes,  and  kneeling  in  imitation  of 
Christ  washing  the  feet  of  His  disciples  on  the  night  of  the  betrayal,  he 
washes  the  feet  of  the  priests  and  choristers,  of  whom  there  are  usually 
eleven.  Christ  washed  the  feet  of  twelve,  but  one  of  them  was  unworthy. 
The  service  then  continues  until  midnight,  and  while  the  ceremony  is  in 
progress,  the  lights  are  put  out  one  by  one,  to  remain  out  until  the  "Light- 
ing of  the  Lights"  on  Easter  eve.  If  the  church  is  a  parish  church  in  which 
a  priest  officiates,  a  number  of  little  boys  are  ranged  in  order  for  the  "Wash- 
ing of  Feet,"  which  in  this  case  is  performed  by  the  priest,  who  anoints  the 
soles  of  their  feet  with  oil  after  he  has  washed  them.  Each  boy  is  given  a 
walnut  shell  and  before  he  moves  from  his  place  he  carefully  scrapes  some  of 
the  oil  into  his  shell,  and  carries  it  home  to  place  in  the  butter.  If  he  does 
this  it  is  believed  that  the  supply  of  butter  will  not  fail  throughout  the  year. 

This  same  service  was  observed  by  a  writer  in  the  Survey,  in  a  church 
on  East  27th  Street,  New  York,  rented  by  a  company  of  Armenian  folk 
residing  in  that  city.7  The  same  symbolic  "Washing  of  Feet"  was  carried 
out  on  the  evening  of  Maundy  Thursday  in  much  the  same  fashion  as 
it  is  carried  out  in  the  home-land.  The  symbolism,  the  pageantry,  the 
color  of  oriental  Armenian  worship,  the  silver-mounted  Bible  on  the  altar 
in  the  center,  the  rising  steps,  the  crosses,  the  lighted  candles,  and  the 
incense  were  all  there.  A  white-robed  choir  with  green  velvet  copes  filed 
in,  singing  long  chants.  The  choir  was  followed  by  two  priests,  and  the 
priests  by  the  bishop  with  his  mitre,  robe  of  crimson  and  gold,  and  his  ivory 
cross  held  in  the  right  hand  with  a  kerchief  of  crimson  silk.  A  shining 
crozier  held  in  his  left  hand  marked  his  office  as  shepherd  of  the  flock;  a 
large  jewel  locket  and  cross  hung  from  his  breast  and  was  probably  the 
gift  of  the  Czar.  The  choir  chant  that  continues  all  the  while  was  described 
as  an  intricate,  rhythmless  tune,  now  passionate,  now  wailing  and  al- 
together "oriental,"  accompanied  by  a  few  older  folk  here  and  there  who 
were  humming  in  unison  with  the  choir  and  the  leader,  who  was  beating 
time.  Beside  the  humming  the  congregation  took  no  part  in  the  service 
except  that  it  stood  up  for  the  psalm  and  prayer.  Suddenly  a  sound  to  the 
right  brought  the  observer's  attention  to  an  old  woman  lying  prostrate 
in  the  aisle.  No  one  helped  her,  no  one  even  seemed  to  notice  her,  but 
presently  she  rose  to  a  kneeling  posture  and  lifted  her  eyes  in  prayer  to  the 
altar.  Again  she  prostrated  herself,  and  again  rose  to  lift  her  eyes  to  the 
altar,  which  performance  was  repeated  a  third  time  before  the  old  woman 

•  F.  C.  Conybeare,  Ritual  Armenorum  pp.  213,  294. 
7  Survey  36:167.     Anonymous. 


CHRISTIAN   FOLK    FESTIVALS  73 

took  her  seat.  "Der  Voghormia"  meaning  "Lord  have  mercy  upon  us,"  was 
repeated  ten  times  by  the  interceding  bishop  in  a  voice  loud  and  intense, 
and  a  second  ten  times,  and  a  third  ten  times.  The  chant  quickened, 
and  as  the  aged  priest  took  the  Bible  from  its  place  and  held  it  toward 
the  audience  the  bishop  gave  his  benediction  of  peace  to  the  "four  corners 
of  the  earth."  There  was  another  chant  after  which  the  washing  of  the 
feet  commenced.  With  deep  seriousness  the  bishop  placed  his  staff  by 
the  altar,  laid  aside  his  mitre  and  brocaded  robes,  and  beginning  with  the 
aged  priest,  he  knelt  beside  a  bowl  of  water  to  wash  his  feet.  Ten  more 
of  those  who  came  forward  shared  in  the  ceremony.  "I  can  not  so  serve 
you  all,"  he  said  at  the  close  of  his  address,  "I  am  sorry.  Take  as  symbolic 
what  is  done."  There  was  a  short  intermission,  but  before  ten  o'clock 
the  penitential  service  recommenced  and  continued  until  midnight.  The 
story  of  Christ's  betrayal  in  the  garden  was  read,  and  the  chants  contin- 
ued, wilder,  sadder,  and  more  wailing,  accompanied  by  murmurs  and 
occasionally  by  low  cries  from  the  people.  As  midnight  approached  the 
lights  were  dimmed  one  by  one,  and  the  emotion  became  more  intense. 
As  the  hour  struck,  the  congregation  rose,  and  with  clasped  hands  joined 
in  a  closing  song  and  prayer.    There  were  only  a  few  score  people  present. 

The  prostration  of  the  old  woman  reminds  one  of  the  spiritually  wounded 
who  lay  prostrate  over  the  floor  during  the  times  of  the  Kentucky  revi- 
vals, but  the  fact  is  there  is  nothing  hysterical  in  this  particular  phase  of 
Armenian  worship.  The  attitude  is  commonly  practiced  by  Armenians, 
especially  among  the  peasant  classes.  They  lie  flat  touching  their  heads 
to  the  ground.5  But  the  posture  is  more  peculiarly  oriental  than  it 
is  peculiarly  Armenian.  No  sight  is  more  common  in  the  countries  of 
Islam  than  the  faithful  Moslem  who  spreads  his  bit  of  carpet  upon  which 
he  kneels  with  gaze  fixed  toward  Mecca,  prostrating  himself  repeatedly 
as  he  murmurs  his  praj-ers. 

Although  the  picture  given  by  Dubois  of  a  simple  church  service  he 
attended  in  Koulpe,  Armenia,  is  not  the  ceremony  of  Maundy  Thursday, 
it  has  one  or  two  strokes  of  native  color  that  make  it  impossible  to  omit.9 
The  church  was  poor  and  simple,  the  walls  were  built  of  stone  cemented 
by  clay  or  bad  lime.  Two  rows  of  large  beams  neither  squared  nor  trimmed 
supported  the  earthen  roof  in  the  manner  of  columns.  At  the  farther  end 
was  a  kind  of  niche,  partitioned  off  by  means  of  soiled  curtains,  thus  form- 
ing a  sanctuary  where  stood  the  priest,  clothed  in  torn  robe,  to  read  the 
prayers.  All  of  the  little  boys  of  the  village  encircled  him,  kneeling  and 
chanting  or  reciting  prayers,  turn  by  turn.  The  eldest  placed  themselves 
outside  of  the  choir  and  knelt  on  straw  mats  or  on  sheep's  skins  which 

8  Tavernier,  Voyages  1 :496. 
»  Dubois  3:441. 


74  LOUIS  A.    BOETTIGER 

marked  their  customary  places,  and  kissed  the  earth,  or  murmured  very- 
low  the  words  of  the  priest,  or  responded  to  the  chanting  at  high  pitch. 
The  women  held  themselves  apart,  their  faces  half  veiled,  filling  the  back 
of  the  church  behind  the  men,  and,  with  lowered  heads,  were  the  first  to 
leave. 

The  kneeling  posture  and  the  prostration  is  again  clearly  in  evidence, 
which  together  with  what  has  been  said  is  sufficient  to  show  that  this  atti- 
tude, especially  among  the  common  people,  is  a  very  ordinary  one  and  is 
therefore  to  be  regarded  merely  as  a  very  generally  recognized  posture 
of  worship,  and  not  at  all  significant  necessarily  of  "conviction  of  sin" 
or  a  "feeling  of  penitence,"  which  is  nevertheless  suggested.  The  church 
at  Koulpe  must  have  been  a  very  poor  one  not  to  have  benches,  but  it  had 
its  little  chorus  of  boys,  and  the  people  participated  in  much  the  same 
way  as  in  the  little  church  in  New  York,  although  nearly  a  hundred  years 
have  passed  since  Dubois  attended  the  simple  service. 

"Khatchahankist,"  meaning  literally,  "repose  of  the  cross,"  is  the  second 
of  the  four  church  ceremonies  I  shall  describe.  The  ceremony  might  better 
be  named  "the  Blessing  of  the  Water,"  for  that  is  what  it  really  consists  of. 
In  the  towns  of  Turkey  the  churches  devote  one  day  each  week  to  the 
performance  of  this  rite,  but  in  other  churches  it  occurs  at  the  end  of  a 
special  mass,  as  for  example  on  Ascension  Day,  or  on  the  commemoration 
day  of  St.  Gregory.10  There  is  always  a  very  great  gathering  on  this  oc- 
casion largely  because  of  the  various  superstitions  connected  with  it. 
A  large  silver  bowl  of  water  is  brought  and  placed  on  a  stand  at  the  foot 
of  the  altar,  after  which  the  officiating  priest  comes  forward  with  relics 
of  the  Holy  Cross,  of  the  saints,  or  a  simple  silver  cross  in  his  hand.  The 
more  frequently  used  relics  are  those  of  St.  Gregory  the  Illuminator,  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  St.  James  of  Nisibis,  or  St.  George  the  Martyr.  The 
priest  reads  prayers  over  the  water,  which  are  answered  by  the  chants 
from  the  choir,  after  which  he  dips  the  relic  or  the  cross  into  the  water 
three  times,  finally  making  the  sign  of  the  cross  over  the  bowl.  The  Lord's 
prayer  is  repeated,  after  which  a  ladle  is  placed  on  one  side  of  the  vessel, 
while  the  priest  kneels  on  the  other,  cross  or  relic  in  hand.  Now  the  people 
crowd  about,  cross  their  faces  and  kiss  the  cross,  and  then  take  up  the 
ladle  to  drink  of  the  water  thus  blessed  especially  for  drinking  purposes. 
It  is  used  also  for  ablutions,  for  popular  belief  endows  the  sacred  liquid 
with  curative  power. 

Some  of  the  prayers  that  are  repeated  and  the  texts  that  are  read 
during  this  ceremony  are  well  worth  noting,  for  they  illustrate  the  candid 
interest  of  all  participating.  After  the  reading  of  the  texts,  the  deacon 
repeats  the  following  proclamation:  "Let  us  pray  unto  God  who  loveth 

10  Ormanian  p.  177. 


CHRISTIAN    FOLK    FESTIVALS  75 

mankind  and  hath  given  for  hope  and  refuge  his  victorious  holy  cross, 
which  is  armor  invincible  against  the  inworkings  of  Satan,  to  the  end 
that  whatsoever  it  touches,  th;s  water  and  all  creatures,  He  shall  through 
the  same  vouchsafe  both  healing  and  mercy."  The  priest  then  prays: 
"Bless,  O  Lord,  this  water,  and  hallow  it  with  thy  holy  cross,  in  order  that 
the  flocks  and  sheep  which  may  approach  and  drink  of  the  same,  may 
derive  therefrom  freedom  from  disease  and  sterility;  for  from  them  we 
select  sacrifices  of  fragrant  sweetness  and  offer  them  as  victims  to  thy- 
self." And  again  the  priest  prays:  "Bless,  O  Lord,  this  water  with  the 
life-giving  powers  of  the  cross  that  everyone  who  shall  drink  thereof  may 
derive  therefrom  a  medicine  of  soul  and  body,  and  a  health  from  the  dis- 
eases which  afflict  him."  Again:  "Bless,  O  Lord,  this  water  with  thy 
holy  cross,  that  it  may  impart  to  the  fields  where  it  is  sprinkled  profitable 
harvests,  and  that  all  plants  and  herbs  may  be  more  than  ever  increased 
in  fruitfulness."11  The  cross  is  then  passed  three  times  over  the  water 
with  the  words,  "Let  this  water  be  blessed  and  hallowed  in  the  name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  Amen."  This  is  followed 
by  a  short  proclamation  by  the  deacon  and  a  closing  prayer  by  the  priest, 
after  which  the  assembled  people  receive  of  the  magic  water  as  above  de- 
scribed. 

This  frank  personal  interest  is  characteristic  of  many  of  the  church 
ceremonies.  For  example  in  the  sacrament  of  holy  communion,  incense 
is  offered  with  the  prayer,  "Do  thou  in  its  stead  send  upon  us  the  graces 
and  gifts  of  thine  Holy  Spirit."12 

Of  central  importance  to  the  nation  as  to  the  religion  is  the  ceremony 
of  the  consecration  of  the  Katholikos,  the  supreme  authority  of  the  church, 
which  is  held  in  front  of  the  Cathedral  at  Etchmiadzin.13  People  from  near 
and  far  gather  together  to  witness  this  event,  and  lest  they  should  fail 
to  see  the  central  act  of  the  ceremony,  the  roofs  near-by  are  all  used  for 
the  greater  advantage  they  give  to  the  observer.  The  banner  of  the  Ka- 
tholikos is  set  flying  from  the  belfry  tower;  in  front  of  the  entrance  to  the 
Cathedral  is  set  a  wooden  dais  covered  with  carpets  and  costly  embroi- 
deries whereon  the  ceremony  is  performed;  the  procession  is  formed  and 
all  is  then  in  readiness.  A  service  is  held  in  the  Cathedral,  after  which 
the  procession  issues  from  the  church,  and  the  various  state  and  church 

11  F.  C.  Conybeare,  Ritual  Armenorum  p.  224. 

U  Brightman,  Eastern  Liturgies,  chapter  on  Armenian  Liturgy.  For  an  interesting  variation  of  this 
ceremony  see  Ta vernier  1:502. 

Closely  related  to  this  ceremony  is  that  of  the  blessing  or  purifying  of  a  well.  A  well  is  not  used 
until  a  priest  has  first  blessed  it.  or  if  the  water  of  a  well  becomes  impure,  it  is  necessary  to  purify  it  by 
the  blessing  of  a  priest.  The  latter  takes  a  cross  and  a  Bible  and  having  requested  the  people  to  draw 
a  pail  of  water  which  is  thrown  away,  a  second  pail  is  drawn,  over  which  the  priest  reads  a  psalm.  The 
water  is  then  blessed  with  the  cross,  incense  is  burned  over  the  well,  and  the  pail  of  water  is  emptied  back. 
{Maschtotz.) 

13  Lynch  1:203,  204. 


76  LOUIS  A.    BOETTICER 

officials  including  representatives  from  the  Russian  government,  the 
choir  and  deacons,  all  take  their  places  about  the  platform.  The  twelve 
bishops  who  reside  at  Etchmiadzin,  and  whose  business  it  is  to  wait  upon 
the  Katholikos,  now  appear  gorgeously  attired,  escorting  the  central  fig- 
ure of  the  day,  over  whose  head  two  attendants  carry  a  richly  embroi- 
dered canopy.  The  patriarch  falls  on  his  knees,  his  feet  beneath  his  body 
in  full  accordance  with  the  ordinary  posture.  One  bishop  now  reads, 
after  which  another  advances  bearing  in  his  hands  the  image  of  a  dove 
wrought  in  gold.  It  is  the  receptacle  of  the  holy  oil,  which  is  a  mixture 
of  the  sacred  oil  blessed  by  St.  Gregory,  sparingly  used  and  carefully  pre- 
served in  the  treasury  of  the  Cathedral,  and  of  the  specially  prepared 
oil  consecrated  in  Sis  in  Cilicia.  While  one  bishop  is  pouring  the  holy  oil 
from  the  neck  of  the  golden  dove  over  the  head  of  the  partiarch,  the  other 
bishops  gather  around  to  spread  the  oil  about  with  their  thumbs,  making 
at  the  same  time  the  sign  of  the  cross.  A  piece  of  cloth  is  now  placed  over 
his  head,  his  face  being  covered  at  the  same  time  by  a  veil  which  is  at- 
tached to  the  cloth.  After  a  brief  interval  the  newly  consecrated  Ka- 
tholikos, followed  by  the  bishops,  officials,  and  procession,  reenters  the 
church  in  order  to  complete  the  ceremony.  When  the  procession  again 
files  out  escorting  the  pontiff  to  his  residence,  the  choir  sings,  and  the  Rus- 
sian band  plays.  Festivities  continue  throughout  the  day  and  into  the 
night,  including  mainly  the  banquet  with  its  toasts  and  songs  by  the  choir, 
and  the  concert  furnished  by  the  band  in  the  evening.  The  band  is  a 
foreign  innovation,  although  the  particular  band  observed  by  Lynch 
consisted  mostly  of  Armenians. 

The  holy  oil  used  in  the  consecration  consists  for  the  most  part  of  the 
preparation  manufactured  in  Sis,  as  stated,  and  with  which  there  is  a 
special  ceremony  connected,  which  is  of  general  importance,  for  the  oil 
is  also  used  for  the  various  necessary  consecrations  of  all  the  churches. 
In  the  church  at  Sis  is  treasured  a  gorgeous  silver  bowl,  decorated  with 
turrets  and  pinnacles,  in  which  "Muron"  as  it  is  called,  or  holy  oil  is  made 
every  four  years.  Pilgrims  come  from  far  to  witness  the  event.  The  bowl, 
which  holds  about  a  gallon  of  oil  is  placed  outside  the  church,  and  in  it 
are  placed  a  hundred  and  one  kinds  of  flowers  amid  prayers  and  chants.14 
These  flowers  are  stirred  with  the  arm  of  St.  Gregory,  after  which  the 
lid  is  put  on  and  the  mixture  made  to  boil.15  The  privilege  of  lifting  off 
the  lid  is  auctioned,  and  it  is  said  that  £100  was  once  paid  for  the  distinc- 
tion. The  oil  is  then  sold  to  the  pilgrims,  all  of  whom  take  a  phial  of  it 
along  to  their  homes  where  it  is  used  in  baptism,  marriage,  and  burial 
ceremonies.     It  is  also  believed  to  have  wonderful  medicinal  properties. 

"  Contemporary  Review  70:695.     J.  T.  Bent. 

Tavernier,  1:500,  501. 
16  The  people  believe  that  the  holy  relic  causes  the  mixture  to  boil. 


CHRISTIAN   FOLK    FESTIVALS  77 

The  chief  social  value  of  these  ceremonies  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  bring 
large  groups  of  people  together  under  unusual  circumstances,  all  of  which  adds 
importance  to  the  various  rites  and  festivities  of  the  occasion.  Especially 
is  this  true  of  the  consecration  of  the  Katholikos,  which  may  occur  twice 
or  at  the  most  three  times  in  a  generation.  For  this  reason  and  also  because 
of  the  authority  and  position  of  the  Katholikos,  not  only  as  head  of  the 
church,  but  also  in  a  very  real  sense,  as  head  of  the  nation,  this  ceremony 
is  attended  by  many  pilgrims  from  the  various  sections  of  the  country. 
Having  assembled,  the  occasion  is  thus  made  a  great  deal  more  of  than 
if  it  were  an  ordinary  event.  The  day  is  a  festival  day  in  the  full  meaning 
of  the  term.  Besides  the  services  there  is  the  banquet,  the  special  choir, 
and  the  band.  The  relics  kept  in  the  treasury,  which  it  is  probable  that 
most  people  who  come  have  not  seen  before;  also  the  holy  churches  of 
St.  Gaiane  and  St.  Rhipsime,  which  are  visited  by  small  groups  through- 
out the  day;  and  most  of  all  the  sacred  altar  of  the  Cathedral,  where  Christ 
descended  in  the  vision  of  St.  Gregory,  are  special  attractions.  And  then 
there  is  the  library  where  many  ancient  and  precious  manuscripts  are  ex- 
hibited, the  institution  of  the  monastery,  the  garden  of  the  Katholikos, 
the  printing  press,  and  the  seminary,  all  of  which  are  of  interest  to  the  spec- 
tator. In  fact  there  is  sufficient  to  induce  the  pilgrims  to  remain  for  a  num- 
ber of  days,  which  many  of  them  do.  The  grounds  are  provided  with  a 
pilgrim's  court  surrounded  by  guest  chambers  utilized  at  this  time.  Natur- 
ally enough  the  various  monuments  suggest  the  traditions  and  legends 
with  which  they  are  connected,  such  as  the  traditions  of  St.  Gregory,  Ti- 
ridates,  the  legends  of  St.  Rhipsime  and  St.  Gaiane,  and  the  other  legends 
associated  with  the  introduction  of  Christianity.  Although  centered 
about  a  religious  ceremony  which  probably  lasts  no  longer  than  fifteen 
minutes,  the  occasion  is  thus  made  a  festival,  and  is  about  as  important 
in  fostering  a  real  sentiment  of  patriotism  and  of  church  loyalty  as  any 
other  single  festival. 

The  ceremony  of  the  manufacture  of  the  holy  oil  is  not  of  such  central 
importance.  It  also,  however,  has  the  advantage  of  not  occurring  very 
frequently,  coming  as  it  does  only  once  in  every  four  years.  This  together 
with  the  general  utility  of  the  oil  in  all  of  the  various  church  ceremonies, 
plus  the  superstitions  connected  with  it,  is  sufficient  to  induce  pilgrims 
to  make  the  journey  to  Sis  in  Cilicia,  where  the  ceremony  is  held.  It  is 
again  this  assembly  of  pilgrims  that  gives  the  ceremony  a  social  impor- 
tance. In  a  nation  like  the  United  States  where  all  parts  are  connected 
by  railroads,  telegraphs,  and  telephones,  such  a  pilgrimage  would  have 
comparatively  little  social  value.  Except  for  government  centers,  there 
are  no  telegraphs  in  Armenia,  the  telephone  is  known  only  in  a  few  cities, 
and  railroads  there  are  none.  This  lack  of  communication  gives  such 
ceremonies  to  which  pilgrimages  are  made  a  very  special  social  value  which 


78  LOUIS   A.    BOETTIGER 

they  otherwise  would  not  at  all  have.  The  electoral  assemblies  spoken 
of  have  the  same  value,  and  for  the  same  reason.  The  Armenian  is  not 
a  person  to  be  silent,  and  talks  even  when  prudence  is  the  better  part  of 
valour.  He  criticizes,  condemns,  and  praises  openly,  fearlessly,  and  care- 
lessly, and  such  a  gathering  of  pilgrims,  or  electors,  if  it  means  anything, 
would  mean  a  wholesale  exchange  of  facts  relating  to  current  events,  opin- 
ions, and  rumors  with  reference  to  politics,  religion,  and  every  phase  of 
social  and  industrial  life. 

The  Blessing  of  the  Water  can  not  be  said  to  have  so  great  a  social 
value,  occurring  as  it  does  in  some  parts  of  the  country  once  every  week. 
And  yet  this  service  is  unusually  well  attended,  largely  because  of  the 
superstitions  connected  with  the  blessed  water.  Religion  here  appears 
to  offer  its  biggest  attraction  to  the  less  fortunate,  such  as  the  rheumatic, 
the  tubercular,  the  dyspeptic,  the  epileptic,  and  the  feeble-minded.  But 
enough  facts  have  been  mentioned  to  show  that  the  Armenian  church 
is  something  more  than  an  institution  of  cure  and  relief.  It  has  iden- 
tified itself  too  completely  with  the  common  life  by  keeping  alive  the 
streams  and  cross  currents  of  social  activity  to  admit  of  such  a  supposition. 

The  ceremony  of  Maundy  Thursday,  or  Washing  of  the  Feet,  is,  of 
the  four  I  have  mentioned,  of  the  least  social  importance.  But  it  is  gener- 
ally attended,  especially  by  the  women  who  are  compelled  by  the  ban  of 
custom  to  complete  their  house-cleaning  before  this  service  begins.  And 
then  too,  it  is  the  commencement  of  the  Easter  celebration,  and  as  such 
has  a  distinct  festival  value.  I  have  reviewed  them  therefore  in  the  order 
of  their  social  importance.  The  consecration  of  the  Katholikos  first; 
second  the  making  of  holy  oil;  third,  the  Blessing  of  the  Water,  and  finally, 
the  Washing  of  the  Feet,  which  complete  the  second  group  of  festivals. 


CHAPTER    IV 

PRIVATE    FESTIVAL    OCCASIONS 

Section  1.     Baptism 

The  third  group  of  festivals  comprises  those  connected  with  the  common 
life  of  the  people,  including  the  ceremonies  of  baptism,  betrothal,  mar- 
riage, and  funeral.  The  church  is  vitally  related  to  each  of  them,  and 
they  are  of  importance  here  because  of  their  social  value,  which  I  shall 
again  endeavor  to  point  out. 

First  after  birth,  the  most  important  event  in  the  life  of  every  Armenian 
child  is  that  of  baptism,  for  the  belief  is  that  the  unbaptized  child  has 
no  soul.  The  infant  is  therefore  generally  baptized  on  the  day  after 
birth,  and  when  this  is  impossible  always  within  eight  days  of  birth.  If 
the  child  is  sick  there  is  all  the  more  reason  to  hurry ;  in  this  case  the  essen- 
tial parts  of  the  ceremony  are  performed  in  the  home,  the  remainder  being 
celebrated  at  the  church  at  some  later  time.  The  very  first  thing  to  be 
done  therefore  after  the  birth  of  a  child  is  to  make  the  necessary  prepar- 
ations for  baptism,  which  are  very  elaborate  in  the  case  of  the  first-born, 
especially  if  the  child  is  a  boy.1  A  girl  is  always  better  than  no  child  at  all, 
but  not  much  better.  A  godfather  and  godmother  are  selected,  presents 
are  exchanged  between  them  and  the  parents  of  the  child,  invitations  are 
sent  to  friends  and  relations,  and  at  a  fixed  time  the  assembled  people 
form  a  procession  to  the  church,  led  by  the  midwife  holding  the  child. 
The  godfather  pays  all  expenses,  and  therefore  such  splendor  as  the  cere- 
mony may  have  in  the  way  of  special  ornaments  for  the  altar,  numbers 
of  priests,  and  a  large  bhoir,  is  determined  by  him.  After  the  group  has 
properly  assembled  at  the  church,  the  priest  takes  the  child  from  the 
midwife  and  gives  it  to  the  godfather.  The  profession  of  faith  follows 
immediately  and  then  the  priest  turns  to  the  west  to  abjure  the  devil  and 
to  the  east  to  invoke  the  Trinity.2  Having  placed  the  hem  of  his  chasuble 
upon  the  babe,  the  priest  proceeds  to  the  sacristy  reciting  a  psalm,  and 
followed  by  the  people.  The  central  event  now  takes  place.  The  bap- 
tism consists  of  three  immersions  in  the  name  of  the  Holy  Trinity.  First 
water  is  poured  over  the  head  of  the  child,  after  which  the  whole  body 
is  plunged  into  the  water.  Confirmation  is  administered  right  after  the 
ceremony  of  immersion,  and  takes  place  upon  the  altar  of  the  church 
proper,  before  the  image  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.     The  forehead,  eyes,  ears, 

I  Catholic  World  11:301.     Paul  Terzian. 

*  According  to  Maschtolz  the  devil  is  abjured  and  the  Trinity  invoked  at  the  gate  of  the  church.  In 
the  course  of  the  ceremony  the  priest  unclothes  the  babe  and  asks  the  godfather,  "What  seeks  the  child?" 
The  godfather  answers,  "Faith,  Hope,  Love,  and  Baptism,  to  be  cleansed  from  his  sins  and  to  be  freed 
from  the  devils."    The  three  immersions  are  symbolical  of  the  three  days  of  burial  of  Christ.     (M aschotlt.) 


80  LOUIS  A.   BOETTIGER 

nose,  mouth,  hands,  back,  breast  and  upper  part  of  the  feet  of  the  infant 
are  anointed  with  holy  oil,  and  two  wax  tapers  are  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  godfather  while  carrying  the  child.  The  priest  then  takes  the  tapers 
and  the  babe,  consecrates  and  confirms  him  by  three  profound  inclina- 
tions before  the  altar,  gives  candles  and  child  back  to  the  godfather  and 
blesses  both.  Now  the  child  may  be  called  by  its  Christian  name,  which 
is  usually  that  of  a  saint.3  Led  by  the  priest  and  the  singing  choir,  the  pro- 
cession now  starts  back  to  the  home  of  the  little  one,  still  carried  by  the 
godfather  who  continues  to  hold  the  candles.  When  he  reaches  the  door 
of  the  mother,  she  kneels  and  prostrates  herself  before  him.  He  in  turn 
delivers  the  child  to  the  mother's  arms  who  may  now  kiss  it  for  the  first 
time,  the  child  not  having  been  kissed  by  any  one  from  the  moment  of 
birth  to  the  delivering  over  to  the  mother  by  the  godfather  after  baptism. 
Others  may  now  also  kiss  the  babe,  and  each  endeavors  to  be  the  first, 
for  there  is  a  superstitious  value  attached  to  the  first  kiss  following  the 
mother's  after  baptism.  The  priests  and  the  family  of  the  godfather  spend 
the  evening  in  the  child's  home.  They  are  served  constantly  by  the  father 
who  does  not  himself  sit  down.  For  forty  days  the  mother  must  keep  her 
room,  and  walk  only  in  such  parts  of  the  house  as  are  exposed  to  the  sun.4 
Having  completed  the  fortieth  day  she  and  her  babe  are  taken  to  church 
by  the  grandmother.6  On  this  occasion  the  young  mother  must  bring  an 
offering,  which  in  times  past  was  a  rich  Persian  rug,  but  is  now  merely 
a  package  of  tapers.  She  waits  at  the  door  of  the  sacristy  until  the  priest 
comes  and  leads  her  in  before  the  high  altar  where  both  mother  and  child 
receive  a  blessing.  After  this  ceremony  she  must  visit  the  godfather  and 
kiss  his  hand  in  token  of  gratitude. 

If  a  funeral  passes  during  the  first  forty  days  of  the  child's  life,  the  little 
one  must  be  snatched  up  from  the  cradle  and  be  carried  upright.  People 
now  come  to  offer  their  felicitations.  The  greeting  of  the  guest  is  always, 
"May  God  raise  the  child  in  the  shadow  of  its  parents,"  to  which  answer 
is  given,  "May  God  bless  you  according  to  your  desire,"  or  "May  your 
tongue  be  always  in  good  health." 

Section  2.     Betrothal 

It  is  the  popular  belief  among  Armenians  that  the  practice  of  early 
marriages  dates  from  the  proclamation  of  a  Persian  shah  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  to  whom  part  of  Armenia  was  tributary.6    This  edict  was  intended 

» In  the  description  of  baptism  as  witnessed  by  Tavernier,  red  and  white  threads  were  laid  about 
the  neck  of  the  child  at  this  point  in  the  ceremony.  They  represent  the  blood  and  body  of  Christ  and 
are  probably  believed  to  keep  away  the  evil  eye.  Beads  and  various  other  charm  tokens  are  commonly 
used  for  this  purpose.     (Tavernier  1:500.) 

•  This  is  probably  because  evil  spirits  dwell  in  darkness,  while  the  beneficent  are  light. 

•  The  similarity  to  the  old  Hebrew  custom  may  be  noted. 
«  Paul  Terzian,  Catholic  World  71:305. 


PRIVATE    FESTIVAL    OCCASIOXS  81 

to  wipe  out  Christianity,  and  provided  for  the  marriage  of  Armenian  boys 
and  girls  with  Persian  children.  In  order  to  evade  the  edict,  the  Armenian 
parents  ran  secretly  from  house  to  house  for  several  nights  marrying  off  their 
children  to  each  other.  The  custom  on  the  part  of  the  parents  of  arranging 
for  the  marriage  of  their  children  without  the  knowledge  of  the  latter  is 
supposed  also  to  be  rooted  in  this  event.  Whether  the  explanation  be  true 
or  not,  it  certainly  is  not  uncommon  for  children  to  marry  at  sixteen  in 
the  interior  of  Armenia,  and  it  is  still  generally  true  that  arrangements 
for  the  marriages  of  children  are  made  without  the  knowledge  of  those 
most  concerned.7  The  girl  does  occasionally  exercise  choice,  but  when 
the  unfortunate  suitor  is  not  desired  by  the  parents  the  feeling  of  obli- 
gation on  the  girl's  part,  simply  because  she  has  lived  at  her  father's  table, 
is  sufficient  to  induce  her  to  submit.8  And  the  same  may  be  said  of  the 
young  man,  although  the  greater  independence  of  a  son  gives  him  a  little 
more  ground  for  acting  contrary  to  his  father's  wishes,  than  in  the  case 
of  the  daughter.  But  even  when  the  choice  of  the  children  is  accepted, 
the  arrangements  and  ceremony  of  betrothal  are  always  carried  out  by 
the  parents. 

These  arrangements  are  something  as  follows.  The  parents  of  a  young 
man  consult  his  grandparents,  and  choose  a  young  girl  who  to  them  seems 
eligible.  They  then  inform  a  woman  match-maker  of  their  decision,  and 
it  is  her  business  to  sound  the  ground,  so  to  speak,  before  a  proposal  is 
made,  since  a  refusal  would  ruin  the  boy's  reputation.  The  matchmaker 
is  often  a  professional  woman,  and  can  therefore  be  relied  upon  not  to 
make  a  bungle  of  the  job.  Among  other  things,  she  finds  out  what  gifts 
the  bridegroom-to-be  must  make  to  his  future  bride,  which  can  of  course 
be  done  only  after  the  proposal  has  met  with  a  favorable  response  on  the 
part  of  the  parents  of  the  girl.  "What  can  he  offer  his  bride,"  is  the  all 
important  question  from  the  standpoint  of  the  girl's  family.  Among  the 
rich,  but  in  times  past,  gold  bracelets  bejeweled  with  diamonds  or  strings 
of  gold  pieces  for  adorning  the  head  or  neck  were  common  varieties  of 
gifts.  To-day  silver  plate,  or  expensive  heirlooms  are  given.  After  these 
matters  have  been  decided  upon,  preparations  are  made  for  the  ceremony 
of  betrothal,  usually  held  in  the  evening.  The  friends  of  the  young  man 
are  notified  to  meet  together  in  his  house  at  an  appointed  hour  with  the 
priest  who  is  given  a  ring  which  he  blesses.  The  procession  of  the  bride- 
groom's friends  headed  by  the  priest  now  starts  for  the  house  of  the  bride. 

7  Tavernier  says  that  frequently  two  pregnant  women  who  are  on  very  friendly  terms,  will  engage 
their  future  offspring,  trusting  to  fortune  that  one  will  be  a  boy  and  the  other  a  girl.    (Tavernier  1:505.) 

8  In  fact  when  there  is  a  variance  of  choice  between  parents  and  daughter  it  is  common  for  the  girl 
to  regard  the  decision  of  her  parents  as  being  her  fate.  "Wenn  eine  junge  Frau  mit  ihrer  Heirat,  die  sie, 
nach  dem  Willen  der  Eltern  geschlossen  hat,  unzufrieden  ist,  so  singt  sie: 

'Was  soil  ich  meinem  Vater  und  meincr  Mutter  sagen? 
Das  war  auf  meine  Stirn  geschrieben.'  "  (Abeghian  p.  54.) 


82  LOUIS  A.   BOETTIGER 

All  are  provided  with  lighted  wax  candles  which  they  hold  in  their  hands 
as  they  proceed  down  the  streets  accompanied  by  the  sound  of  violin, 
clarinets,  drum,  and  joyful  singing.  Sometimes  a  detour  is  made  in 
order  to  lengthen  the  procession. 

Having  arrived  at  their  destination,  the  father  and  mother  of  the  girl 
pretend  to  know  nothing  whatever  of  the  reason  for  the  coming  of  the 
guests,  and  conversation  proceeds  for  a  considerable  time  without  the  slight- 
est allusion  to  the  matter  of  chief  moment.  The  priest  finally  makes  the 
following  statement  amid  profound  silence:  "According  to  the  law  of  the 
supreme  Creator,  and  following  the  usages  of  human  society,  we  have  the 
happiness  of  demanding  the  hand  of  Miss  X,  for  Mr.  Y."  The  father  of 
the  girl  pretends  not  to  wish  to  accept,  stating  that  she  is  too  young,  or 
that  her  mother  is  very  desirous  to'  keep  her  at  home.  But  upon  further 
pressing  on  the  part  of  the  parents  of  the  boy,  the  acceptance  is  given. 
It  is  now  the  turn  of  the  girl  to  be  consulted;  she,  however,  is  nowhere 
to  be  found.  The  priest  searches,  and  when  finally  discovered  she  does 
not  speak  a  word.  The  former,  however,  knows,  and  offering  his  hand 
he  says,  "If  you  consent,  kiss  the  hand,"  which  is  straightway  done,  for 
the  girl  has  been  informed  beforehand  that  the  kiss  is  to  be  forthcoming. 
This  part  of  the  procedure  takes  place  apart  from  the  crowd,  and  is  followed 
by  the  presentation  of  the  ring  and  the  benediction  which  must  take  place 
before  the  public.  But  since  custom  forbids  the  girl  to  appear  during  the 
entire  evening,  a  brother  or  a  sister  comes  forward  and  kneels  before  the 
priest  to  receive  the  ring.  The  rest  all  kneel  at  the  same  time,  and  the 
priest  gives  the  benediction.  The  ring  is  carried  by  the  child  to  the  fiancee, 
the  health  of  the  couple  is  drunk  in  rose-syrup,  and  congratulations  and 
compliments  are  exchanged.  Whatever  else  is  eaten  or  drunk,  rose-syrup 
must  be  at  hand,  for  this  is  essential  and  peculiar  to  the  ceremony. 

All  this  while  the  young  man  is  within  the  walls  of  his  own  home.  Cus- 
tom forbids  him  to  appear  at  the  house  of  his  bride-to-be  until  the  wedding 
day,  and  if  perchance  the  two  should  meet,  he  must  turn  his  head  away 
while  she  hides  herself.  Towards  ten  o'clock  the  party  breaks  up,  and 
each  guest  is  given  a  wax  candle.  All  try  to  steal  something  from  the  house 
before  leaving,  such  as  a  bottle,  a  glass,  or  a  spoon,  and  if  the  thieves  are 
not  caught  before  they  leave  the  house,  the  articles  are  returned  only  at 
the  price  of  a  supper  from  the  head  of  the  family.  The  party  now  returns 
to  the  home  of  the  future  bridegroom,  accompanied  by  the  friends  and 
relatives  of  the  girl.  The  procession  formed,  there  is  the  same  lighting 
of  wax  candles  received  from  the  host,  brightening  the  otherwise  dark- 
ened streets,  and  the  same  music  and  singing  to  triumph  over  the  silence 
of  the  night.  The  young  man  must  stand  upright  before  his  future  father- 
in-law  all  through  the  visit.     For  him  the  great  moment  comes  when  the 


PRIVATE    FESTIVAL    OCCASIONS  83 

brother  of  his  fiancee  takes  him  aside  and  offers  him  a  glass  of  syrup  pre- 
pared by  her  own  hands.  The  whole  night  is  passed  in  song  and  amuse- 
ment. During  the  following  fortnight  both  families  receive  visits  of 
congratulation,  and  at  every  visit  the  host  or  hostess  must  offer  the 
syrup  drunk  at  the  betrothal  ceremony. 

Section  3.     Marriage 

Elaborate  and  gay  as  are  the  festivities  of  betrothal,  the  celebrations 
of  marriage  are  so  much  more  so  that  one  is  inclined  to  look  upon  the  essen- 
tial religious  ceremony  as  a  pretext  for  the  merry-making.9  The  interval 
of  a  month  which  ordinarily  intervenes  between  engagement  and  mar- 
riage is  devoted  to  making  the  necessary  preparations  for  the  wedding. 
The  bridegroom  must  get  ready  the  promised  ornaments,  a  white  wedding- 
dress  for  his  bride,  a  fine  veil  to  cover  her  face,  and  a  pair  of  shoes,  a  rather 
strange  combination  of  gifts.  One  wonders  also  why  the  necessary  gloves 
and  silk  stockings  are  not  included.  The  young  lady  on  her  part  prepares 
her  trousseau  including  garments  of  various  sorts,  bits  of  jewelry,  a  wooden 
chest  filled  with  her  clothing,  a  mirror,  a  nuptial  bed  with  the  necessary 
accessories,  and  a  few  cooking  utensils;  altogether  an  outfit  quite  as  varied 
and  singular  as  the  gifts  of  the  bridegroom,  but  certainly  practical  and 
sensible  enough.  Two  days  before  the  wedding,  which  usually  occurs 
on  a  Sunday  afternoon,  invitations  are  sent  out  to  friends  and  relatives, 
and  musicians  are  secured.  On  the  eve  of  the  ceremony,  the  godfather 
invites  the  bridegroom  with  his  friends  to  a  Turkish  bath,  where  they  go 
to  the  accompaniment  of  music  and  singing.  This  part  of  the  celebration 
is  full  of  laughter  and  song,  and  is  continued  on  the  forenoon  of  the  next 
day  in  the  home  of  the  bridegroom,  when  the  barber  comes  to  shave  him  in 
the  presence  of  the  guests  and  musicians,  who  sing  and  play  as  on  the  pre- 
ceding evening  at  the  bath .  The  occasion  is  one  of  importance  for  the  bar- 
ber, who  brings  all  sorts  of  perfumes  which  are  purchased  by  the  guests 
and  poured  over  the  bridegroom;  he  receives  not  only  a  large  fee  for  his 
service  but  also  a  double  price  for  the  scented  extracts.  The  young  man 
is  then  dressed  up  while  the  priest  and  choir  children  who  have  arrived 
lg  canticles. 
In  the  meantime  very  similar  festivities  occur  in  the  home  of  the  bride, 
)articipated  in  by  her  young  girl  friends  and  relatives,  except  that  they 
are  not  characterized  by  the  same  spirit  of  loud  laughter  and  rejoicing. 
On  the  eve  of  the  wedding  the  girls  gather  around  her  to  sing  melancholy 
songs,  in  considerable  contrast  with  the  gay,  spirited  music  and  singing 
taking  place  in  the  Turkish  bath  at  the  same  time.  Having  shared 
the  sadness,   they   place  a    rose  leaf  on  the  palm  of  each  hand  of  the 

»  Paul  Terzian,  Catholic  World  71:305. 


84  LOUIS  A.   BOETTIGER 

bride,  which  is  covered  with  henneh,  a  green  Persian  powder  made  into 
paste,  after  which  each  hand  is  carefully  bandaged  up.  So  the  poor  sad 
girl  must  go  to  bed,  to  sleep  if  she  can.  On  the  next  morning  her  friends 
again  arrive  to  take  the  bandages  off  her  hands,  to  dress  her,  and  to  sing 
and  dance  about  her.  Except  for  the  print  of  the  rose  leaf,  the  henneh 
leaves  the  hands  orange  red,  which  is  supposed  to  be  beautiful.  The  songs 
and  dancing  are  again  of  a  decidedly  melancholy  tone.  Her  white  dress, 
together  with  the  coat  of  the  bridegroom,  must  be  blessed  by  the  priest, 
a  ceremony  which  the  church  functionary  performs  alone,  both  articles 
being  sent  to  him  early  in  the  morning.  Preliminary  to  the  day's  events, 
and  before  breakfast,  both  bride  and  bridegroom,  being  previously  con- 
fessed, go  separately  to  church,  where  they  take  communion.  This  done, 
the  festivities  described  follow,  bride  and  bridegroom  are  dressed,  and 
all  is  in  readiness  for  the  ceremony  which  occurs  in  the  late  afternoon 
or  evening. 

The  bride  must  ride  to  church  on  horseback,  and  having  arrived  she 
is  dismounted,  and  later  remounted  without  touching  her  feet  to  the  ground, 
which  rather  cumbersome  performance  is  accomplished  through  the  help 
of  a  brother  or  relative,  who  also  rides  the  bride's  steed  while  the  ceremony 
takes  place  within,  for  the  horse  is  not  to  be  left  riderless.  The  procession 
to  the  church  is  accompanied  by  musicians.  Before  the  rail  which  sepa- 
rates the  choir  from  the  body  of  the  church,  two  wooden  chairs  are  placed, 
upon  which  the  couple  sit  down  while  the  people  present  kneel  on  the  mats 
covering  the  floor.  When  the  time  comes  for  the  blessing  of  the  priest, 
the  couple  arise,  step  inside  the  choir  space,  and  stand  facing  each  other 
between  the  high  altar  and  two  witnesses,  their  foreheads  touching.  In 
this  position  they  receive  the  sacrament  of  matrimony,  answering  in  the 
affirmative  the  questions  of  the  priest  regarding  their  duties  to  each  other 
and  to  their  children.  Of  the  bride  is  demanded  perfect  faithfulness  to 
conjugal  duties,  entire  obedience  to  the  husband  of  whom  care,  patience, 
wisdom,  and  love  are  required.  The  priest,  taking  the  right  hand  of  the 
bride  and  placing  it  in  the  hand  of  the  bridegroom,  says,  "According  to 
the  divine  order  God  gave  to  our  ancestors,  I  give  thee  now  this  wife  in 
subjection.  Wilt  thou  be  her  master?"  "Through  the  help  of  God 
I  will,"  answers  the  bridegroom.  The  priest  then  asks  the  woman,  "Wilt 
thou  be  obedient  to  him?"  to  which  is  answered,  "I  am  obedient  according 
to  the  order  of  God."  These  questions  are  repeated  and  replied  to  thrice, 
in  evident  implicit  belief  that  once  would  not  be  sufficient.  Finally,  the 
priest  ties  to  each  of  their  heads  a  cord  and  cross,  which  is  again  removed 
by  him  late  at  night  in  the  home  with  special  ceremony,  and  it  is  only 
after  this  performance  that  the  couple  may  enter  the  nuptial  chamber. 

After  the  ceremony  at  the  church  the  procession  starts  back  for  the 
home  of  the  bridegroom's  father,  the  bride  riding  upon  her  horse,  musician 


PRIVATE    FESTIVAL    OCCASIONS  85 

playing,  and  choir  boys  singing.  The  water-carriers,  who  have  supplied 
drinking  water,  break  their  jars  noisily  before  the  bridegroom,  drench- 
ing his  marriage  costume  and  giving  rather  an  abrupt  signal  to  the  god- 
father whose  business  it  is  to  tip  them.  Noisily  the  procession  moves 
along  the  streets  until  it  arrives  at  the  gate  of  the  house.  In  days  past 
it  was  the  custom  at  this  point  in  the  ceremony  to  place  a  sheep  ready  to 
be  sacrificed  at  the  feet  of  the  young  couple,  the  poorer  people  contenting 
themselves  with  chickens.  The  butcher  put  his  knife  to  the  neck  of  the 
sheep  saying,  "May  God  thus  put  all  your  enemies  under  your  feet,  Amen, 
Amen."  Then  pieces  of  coin  mixed  with  raisins,  pistachios,  and  other  bits 
of  nuts  or  dried  fruits  are  showered  over  the  people  from  the  windows 
above,  while  the  godfather  leads  the  bridegroom  within  to  the  crowd  of 
men,  and  the  godmother  leads  the  bride  to  the  women,  everybody  trying 
to  kiss  the  cross  on  their  heads.  The  bride  is  then  placed  in  the  seat  of 
honor  and  in  her  arms  is  laid  first  a  little  boy,  and  then  a  little  girl,  so  that 
the  first  child  may  be  a  boy  and  if  perchance  the  will  of  God  be  otherwise 
at  least  a  girl.  Each  guest  now  comes  to  the  bride  to  place  at  her  feet  a 
fruit  in  season.  The  bridegroom  is  called  "the  prince  of  the  feast"  and 
must  never  quit  his  seat  of  honor.  If  he  does  leave  his  chair  he  must  place 
an  object  belonging  to  him  upon  his  seat,  and  if  he  should  at  any  time  omit 
to  do  so,  the  assembly  makes  the  godfather  pay  the  necessary  forfeit,  which 
is  usually  a  dinner.  Towards  nine,  the  guests  take  their  leave,  having 
eaten  and  sung  to  their  uttermost  desire.10 

Living  in  the  home  of  her  patriarchal  father-in-law,  the  young  wife 
is  subject  to  the  severest  restraints.  She  must  wear  a  lightly  fitting  veil 
enclosing  her  face  below  the  eyes,  without  which  she  can  not  appear  even 
in  the  house.11  She  wears  a  close  fitting  bodice  fastened  at  the  neck  with 
silver  clasps,  full  trousers  of  rose  colored  silk  gathered  in  at  the  anldes 
by  a  filet  of  silver;  her  feet  are  bare,  a  silver  girdle  of  curious  workmanship 
loosely  encircles  her  waist,  and  a  long  padded  garment,  open  down  the 
front,  hangs  from  her  shoulders.  Not  a  single  word  must  she  utter  to  any 
member  of  the  household,  except  when  alone  with  her  husband,  and  then 
only  such  as  may  be  absolutely  necessary,  until  she  has  given  birth  to  her 
first  child.  Then  she  may  speak  to  her  nursling,  after  a  while  to  her  mother- 
in-law,  later  to  her  own  mother,  and  by  and  by  to  the  young  girls  of  the 
household,  but  never  in  all  her  life  may  she  have  word  with  a  young  man 
not  a  relative.  During  her  first  year  of  married  life,  she  may  not  go  out 
of  the  house  except  for  two  visits  to  the  church.     Every  morning  and  at 

10  It  is  very  evident  that  the  expense  of  these  festivities  is  a  considerable  item  in  the  budget  of  the 
bridegroom's  father.  But  it  is  a  matter  of  social  pride  and  respectability  to  live  up  to  a  certain  standard 
of  established  usage.  Accordingly  many  families  involve  themselves  in  life-long  incumbrances,  not  only 
in  the  betrothal  and  marriage  festivities  but  also  in  the  ceremony  of  baptism,  simply  to  come  up  to  a  rec- 
ognized norm  of  expenditure.      (Ta vernier  1:504,  505.) 

u  Cesaresco,  chapter  on  Armenian  folk-songs. 


86  LOUIS   A.    BOETTIGER 

the  end  of  each  meal  she  must  pour  water  over  the  hands  of  her  father - 
and  mother-in-law,  and  for  a  certain  time  after  marriage,  when  visitors 
come,  she  must  kiss  their  hands,  except  of  course,  for  men,  before  whom 
she  may  not  even  appear.12  Apart  from  these  troublesome  restraints  the 
young  wife  is  treated  with  the  utmost  solicitude,  and  in  some  parts,  even 
the  peasant  wife  is  not  allowed  to  do  outdoor  work.  In  the  mountain 
villages  of  Persian  Armenia,  however,  the  women  do  all  the  tilling  in  the 
fields,  wearing  their  veils  over  their  mouths  as  they  work.13  The  author 
here  quoted  states  that  husbands  never  see  the  mouths  of  their  wives, 
who  not  only  must  not  speak  during  the  first  year  of  married  life,  or  until 
a  child  is  born,  but  also  may  not  converse  freely  with  their  husbands 
until  six  years  of  married  life  have  elapsed.14 

In  such  fashion  the  sanctity  of  the  marriage  relation  is  strictly  guarded, 
and  as  one  would  suppose,  illegitimate  births  are  unknown  in  Armenia. 
Intermarriage  among  relations  is  forbidden,  and  until  recent  years,  di- 
vorce has  been  unknown.15  As  for  the  taboo  on  speech,  it  is  calculated 
not  so  much  as  an  inducement  to  the  production  of  offspring  as  to  preserve 
harmonious  relations  between  the  various  members  of  the  patriarchal 
household.  Even  the  patriarch  with  all  his  authority  would  find  difficulty 
in  preserving  proper  decorum  of  speech  and  manners  in  so  heterogeneous 
a  household,  if  every  newly  acquired  daughter-in-law  were  given  a  free 
rein  in  the  use  of  her  tongue.  As  the  neophyte  is  made  to  understand  his 
position  by  a  brutal  initiation,  so  the  young  wife  is  kept  from  assuming 
command  over  the  female  household  by  the  placing  of  a  moral  valuation 
upon  the  silence  which  alone  is  compatible  with  the  essential  modesty 
regarded  as  the  first  and  chief  of  virtues  among  wives.  In  the  household 
of  the  patriarch  there  is  a  great  deal  to  be  done  in  common,  and  unfor- 
tunately the  occasion  for  mutual  aid  is  not  sufficient  to  bring  about  the 
desired  cooperation.  Hence  singleness  of  command  and  authority  is  a 
necessary  condition,  not  only  of  efficiency,  but  also  of  peace,  for  it  can  not 
be  supposed  that  so  many  daughters-in-law  would  work  together  in  har- 
mony. It  would  be  a  mistake,  therefore,  to  regard  the  customary  silence 
as  an  inducement  to  child-bearing. 

Identifying  itself  with  the  common  events  of  life,  such  as  birth,  mar- 
riage, and  death,  the  church  has  not  only  given  a  religious  meaning  to 
these  occasions  but  has  also  sanctioned  and  even  encouraged  the  festiv- 
ities that  accompany  them.     These  festivities  have  up  to  this  point  been 

"Paul  Terzian,  Catholic  World  71:508. 

13  Bent,  Contemporary  Review  70:701.       * 

11  Tavernier  states  that  in  Persian  Armenia  a  man  frequently  lives  with  his  wife  ten  years  without 
ever  hearing  her  voice  or  seeing  her  face.  Of  course  she  does  not  sleep  with  her  veil  over  her  face,  but 
she  is  always  careful  to  blow  out  the  candle  before  she  removes  the  veil,  as  she  is  to  rise  before  daybreak 
in  order  to  put  it  on  again.      (Tavernier  1:507.) 

16  Trowbridge,  New  Englander  33:1  ff. 


PRIVATE    FESTIVAL   OCCASIONS  87 

occasions  for  rejoicing,  with  the  single  and  significant  exception  of  the 
melancholy  singing  of  the  bride's  friends  on  the  eve  and  day  of  her  wed- 
ding. There  is  a  perfect  naturalness  about  all  the  merry-making  and  fes- 
tivals so  far  considered,  and  this  is  no  less  characteristic  of  the  funeral 
celebrations  now  to  be  taken  up.  The  description  of  these  will  conclude 
my  treatment  of  the  last  group  of  festivals,  which  arc  more  properly  fes- 
tival-ceremonies, or  ceremonies  that  have  been  made  the  occasion  of 
festivity. 

Section  4.     Funeral 

The  funerals,  as  one  would  naturally  suppose,  are  more  ceremonious, 
more  ritualistic,  and  although  there  is  now  generally  a  minimum  of  festi- 
vity connected  with  them,  this  has  not  always  been  so.16  When  the  con- 
dition of  a  sick  person  is  beyond  hope,  the  priest  is  notified  and  the  person 
is  given  confession,  communion,  and  extreme  unction.  After  death  the 
eyes  and  mouth  are  closed,  the  body  washed  and  dressed  up  in  the  newest 
and  cleanest  clothes  to  be  had,  and  the  arms  crossed  on  the  breast.17  Two 
candles  are  kept  burning  until  the  day  of  the  funeral,  one  at  the  foot  and 
one  at  the  head  of  the  coffin.  Sad,  wooden  bells  are  sounded,  and  guests 
are  invited  to  pay  their  last  respects.  Coffee  is  served  to  them,  but  with- 
out sugar,  as  a  sign  of  grief.  Mourning  women  are  secured,  who  eulogize 
the  departed  and  weep  and  lament  until  the  priests  begin  their  chant- 
ing. The  corpse  is  now  taken  to  the  church  in  a  special  coffin  which  is 
covered  with  a  black  velvet  cloth  adorned  with  small  white  crosses,  among 
the  wealthy,  but  among  the  poor  the  body  is  wrapped  in  linen  and  laid 
in  a  simple  bier,  carried  by  relatives  and  friends.  At  the  head  of  the  pro- 
cession, which  marches  very  slowly  and  chants  on  the  way,  there  are  car- 
ried a  great  cross  and  two  lighted  torches,  followed  by  the  priests  and  then 
by  the  coffin.  The  passer-by  must  stop  and  cross  himself  many  times. 
At  the  church  the  coffin  is  laid  down,  and  if  the  relatives  are  wealthy  each 
person  in  the  church  is  provided  with  a  small  wax  candle  which  is  kept 
lighted  during  the  service.  While  the  ceremony  proceeds  the  body  is  blessed 
with  holy  water  and  perfumed  with  incense,  after  which  the  procession 
re-forms  to  accompany  the  body  to  the  cemetery.  The  chanting  is  kept 
up  all  the  way.  At  the  cemetery  the  body  is  lowered  into  its  last  resting- 
place,  and  the  priest,  after  making  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  the  four  corners 
of  the  grave,  throws  three  shovelfuls  of  earth  into  it  and  three  more  on  the 
coffin.  The  people  imitate  by  throwing  three  handfuls  of  dust,  and  the 
ceremony  completed,  all  return  to  the  home  of  the  deceased  where  they 

"  Paul  Terzian,  Catholic  World  71:509. 

17  This  statement  is  in  contradiction  to  a  previous  statement  that  the  body  of  the  dead  is  merely  wrapped 
in  white  cloth  after  it  has  been  washed;  (see  page  60)  the  use  of  the  whrte  cloth  is  common  among  Grego- 
rian Armenians. 


88  LOUIS   A.    BOETTIGER 

partake  of  steaming  broth  prepared  by  the  neighbors  and  friends,  and 
recite  prayers  for  the  soul  of  the  dead.  This  latter  practice,  as  said  before, 
is  a  pagan  survival,  as  is  also  the  chanting  of  mass  for  the  departed,  which 
occurs  three  days  later,  at  which  time  broth  is  again  distributed,  but 
this  time  to  the  poor  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  dead.  The  grave  is  blessed  on  the 
third  day,  again  on  the  ninth,  at  the  close  of  the  third  month,  and  for  the 
last  time,  at  the  close  of  the  year. 

The  funeral  of  a  priest  is  performed  with  much  splendor.18  The  pro- 
cession makes  a  circuit  of  all  the  churches,  and  stopping  at  different  places, 
portions  of  the  gospel  are  read.  If  the  priest  be  of  high  rank,  as  an  arch- 
bishop, or  a  bishop,  he  is  carried  in  an  open  coffin  and  in  a  sitting  pos- 
ture, dressed  up  in  official  vestments,  in  which  position  he  is  interred 
in  the  courtyard  of  the  church.  Farmers  send  sheep  to  be  killed  and  given 
to  the  poor  as  a  sacrifice.  The  Greeks  in  Constantinople  also  carry  their 
dead  in  an  open  coffin,  but  this  is  because  a  Greek  official  who  was  a  ref- 
ugee prisoner  in  Constantinople  at  the  time  of  the  war  of  the  Turks  with 
the  Greeks,  endeavored  to  get  himself  carried  out  of  the  country  by  feign- 
ing death  and  boxing  himself  up  in  a  coffin.  But  the  Turks  discovered 
the  ruse  and  it  was  enacted  by  the  sultan  that  thereafter  all  Greeks  must 
be  carried  to  their  graves  in  open  coffins.  The  custom  in  respect  to  the  Ar- 
menian bishops,  however,  has  no  connection  with  this. 

In  some  parts  of  Armenia,  as  for  example  in  Erzerum,  the  snow  lies 
so  deep  in  winter-time  that  burial  is  well-nigh  impossible.  During  spring- 
time, with  the  melting  of  the  snow,  coffins  have  been  found  perched  up 
on  tree  tops.  This  was  related  by  an  Armenian  boy  I  know  of,  who  lived 
in  the  vicinity  of  Erzerum.  Curious  customs  of  the  past  have  left  their 
marks.  In  Tarsus,  for  example,  there  are  Armenian  graves  ranged  about 
a  tree  which  is  asserted  to  have  been  planted  by  St.  Paul,  each  provided 
with  a  stone  upon  which  has  been  carved  a  symbol  of  the  deceased ;  for  the 
merchant,  a  representation  of  weights  and  measures,  for  the  blacksmith, 
an  anvil  and  hammer,  for  the  scribe,  an  inkstand  and  pen,  and  for  the  in- 
dustrious housewife,  a  distaff  and  spindle.  In  the  cemetery  of  Nakhit- 
chevan  is  a  large  building  in  which  the  mourners  have  a  great  repast  after 
the  funeral,  and  in  certain  other  graveyards,  Dubois  found  innumer- 
able pieces  of  broken  pitchers  and  crockery,  which  were  probably  broken, 
as  the  custom  is,  to  ward  off  the  evil  spirit  of  the  dead. 

These  four  ceremonies  complete  the  third  and  last  group  of  festivals 
described.  I  have  called  them  ceremonies  because  fundamentally 
that  is  what  they  are,  but  they  are  to  be  distinguished  sharply  from  the 
many  church  ceremonies  I  have  not  so  much  as  mentioned,  by  reason 

ia  Paul  Terzian,  Catholic  World  71:509  ff. 


PRIVATE    FESTIVAL    OCCASIONS  89 

of  their  festival  or  social  value  which  alone  makes  them  proper  subject- 
matter  for  this  thesis.  The  relation  between  these  ceremonies  as  revealed 
in  the  common  procession,  as  well  as  in  the  religious  ceremony  necessary 
to  each  is  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  they  have  to  do  with  the  most  ordi- 
nary, and  yet  most  extraordinary  of  life's  events,  birth,  betrothal,  mar- 
riage, and  death. 

Reviewing  them  from  the  standpoint  of  their  social  or  festival  value, 
it  is  obvious  that  the  marriage  celebration  easily  takes  first  place,  the  be- 
trothal festivities  second,  baptism  and  funeral  third.  There  is  the 
rather  uncouth,  perhaps,  but  none  the  less  spontaneous  gaiety  of  the 
friends  of  the  bridegroom,  not  only  on  the  eve  of  the  wedding-day  when 
they  go  to  the  bath,  but  also  on  the  morning  of  the  wedding-day  when  the 
unfortunate  youth  is  assuredly  cured  of  any  addiction  he  might  have  to 
the  use  of  perfumes.  I  should  imagine  that  the  music  would  begin  to  bore 
the  young  men  by  the  time  the  barber  arrives,  since  the  musicians  also  ac- 
company the  rejoicing  of  the  night  before,  and  yet  it  may  be  said  that 
there  could  be  nothing  more  convenient  or  ingenious  devised  to  carry  over 
a  lull  in  the  merry-making,  for  after  all,  the  young  men  could  not  well 
be  singing,  joking,  laughing,  and  teasing  all  the  time.  In  striking  contrast 
is  the  melancholy  rejoicing  of  the  party  of  young  women  at  the  home  of 
the  bride.  But  where  there  is  dancing  and  singing  there  can  not  well  be 
weeping,  although  no  doubt  it  is  more  natural  for  the  bride  to  be  thought- 
ful on  her  wedding-day,  than  for  the  bridegroom,  for  it  is  the  former  who 
leaves  her  home  to  spend  the  rest  of  her  days  in  a  very  new,  very  strange, 
perhaps  even  unkindly  world.  There  is  still  another  reason  for  the  mel- 
ancholy, in  that  the  girl  must  know  she  is  bidding  farewell  forever  to  the 
delights  and  joys  and  freedom  of  childhood,  for  although  to-day  she  may 
speak  and  sing  and  make  merry,  to-morrow  morning  she  must  be  silent 
and  prepared  to  pour  water  over  the  hands  of  her  father-  and  mother-in- 
law.  Henceforth  it  is  for  her  to  be  submissive,  obedient,  docile,  uncom- 
plaining even  at  heart,  for  what  use  will  it  be  to  complain,  and  though 
her  most  cherished  dreams  may  be  of  motherhood,  does  she  not  also  have 
spirit,  and  why  must  it  be  broken?  Is  she  then  only  a  chattel  to  be  sold 
into  everlasting  bondage?  It  is  all  too  evident,  even  to  the  dullest  of  brides, 
that  the  happiness  of  childhood  is  forever  past,  and  the  brighter  one  can 
hardly  fail  to  feel  that  she  has  been  bartered  for  the  bit  of  gold  about  her 
waist  or  neck. 

There  is  then  the  very  highest  of  social  value  to  be  attributed  to  both 
of  these  festivities,  and  largely  because  in  each  group  of  people,  the  young 
men  on  one  side,  the  young  women  on  the  other,  there  is  perfect  community 
of  feeling,  mutual  understanding,  and  freedom  of  thought  and  expression. 
In  comparison  with  these  gatherings,  the  mixed  assembly  at  the  house 
of  the  bridegroom  after  the  marriage  ceremony  is  of  little  importance. 


90  LOUIS  A.    BOETTIGER 

The  succession  of  events  covering  a  period  of  nearly  thirty-six  hours,  of 
which  only  a  few,  and  perhaps  none  at  all,  are  spent  in  sleep  by  the  members 
of  the  bridal  party,  must  certainly  begin  to  have  its  effect  by  the  time 
the  little  baby  doll  is  placed  in  the  lap  of  the  bride. 

The  betrothal  party  is  always  out  for  a  good  time,  for  they  realize 
that  the  merry-making  is  to  be  an  all-night  affair.  There  is  the  proces- 
sion with  its  candles  lighting  up  the  ^darkened  streets,  the  music  and  sing- 
ing filling  all  space,  the  humorous  little  artificialities  in  the  house  of  the 
bride, — real  enough,  at  least  ceremoniously,  from  the  standpoint  of  the  fam- 
ily,— the  syrup,  the  attempted  stealing  of  utensils,  the  return  procession, 
the  singing,  music,  and  dancing  at  the  home  of  the  young  bridegroom-to- 
be,  without  stop  until  dawn.  All  of  this  makes  a  rather  complete  occasion, 
even  for  young  people. 

Baptism  and  funeral  rites  come  nearest  being  pure  ceremonies.  But 
even  the  baptismal  rite  has  its  procession  to  and  from  the  church  partic- 
ipated in  by  all  the  friends  and  relatives  of  the  family,  and  though  the 
event  is  an  occasion  neither  for  rejoicing  nor  for  sorrow,  it  is  important 
enough,  occurring  as  it  does  but  once  in  the  lifetime  of  each  individual. 
There  are,  to  be  sure,  the  social  calls  that  follow  the  ceremony.  But  the 
event  can  not  be  said  to  have  any  attraction  for  the  young;  and  if  this 
is  true  of  baptism,  it  is  still  more  true  of  funerals.  Nevertheless  there 
is  the  distinct  psychological  value  of  each,  calling  up  as  they  do  various 
associations,  as  the  baptism  of  this  one,  or  the  death  of  another  one,  and 
thus  keeping  alive  the  deepest  experiences  of  life.  If  they  are  crude  and 
offensive  to  more  delicate  tastes,  it  must  be  remembered  that  a  belief  is 
represented  in  the  concrete  fashion  essential  to  the  simple  mind,  a  mode 
of  representation  necessary  to  the  best  of  intellects  even  though  on  an- 
other plane. 


CHAPTER    V 
SUMMARY 

Such  are  the  festivals  treated  in  the  second  and  last  part  of  this  thesis. 
Is  it  true  that  they  form  a  vehicle  of  expression  for  the  national  sentiment 
created  by  the  large  mass  of  social  material  of  which  the  legends  of  Part 
One  are  a  considerable  and  important  portion?  Again  it  will  be  necessary 
to  remind  ourselves  of  the  chief  sentiments  included  within  Armenian 
national  sentiment,  i.e.,  the  sentiment  of  loyalty  to  the  church,  the  sen- 
timent of  reverence  amounting  almost  to  worship  for  the  ancient  glory 
of  the  nation,  and  the  sentiment  of  love  for  the  country.  It  would  be  ridic- 
ulous to  suppose  that  every  festival  was  designed  to  give  expression  to 
some  one  of  these  sentiments.  But  that  these  sentiments  are  given  very 
clear,  very  real  outward  expression  in  the  great  majority  of  the  celebra- 
tions described,  should  be  so  evident  at  this  point  as  to  make  further  ex- 
position unnecessary.  In  the  summer  Festival  of  Vartavar,  the  spring 
Festival  of  Mihr,  Vartan's  Day,  and  in  the  consecration  of  the  Katholi- 
kos  there  is  the  proud  and  reverent  looking  back  to  the  times  when  Ar- 
menia was  an  independent  nation;  the  festival  ceremonies  of  the  third 
group,  baptism,  betrothal,  marriage,  and  funeral,  though  they  are  not 
positive  expressions  of  the  sentiments  of  loyalty  to  the  church,  are  yet 
so  completely  interwoven  with  the  church  and  dependent  upon  it  that  one 
is  compelled  to  regard  the  feeling  as  something  to  be  taken  for  granted, 
while  in  most  of  the  festivals  of  the  second  group,  Christmas,  Easter, 
Maundy  Thursday,  and  the  Blessing  of  the  Grapes  especially,  the  senti- 
ment is  given  a  more  positive  expression.  As  for  the  sentiment  of  love 
for  the  country,  that  is  identified  especially  with  Vartavar  and  Vartan's 
Day.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  each  of  these  festivals  and  festival- 
ceremonies  forms  a  medium  more  or  less  evident  as  the  case  may  be,  for  the 
expression  of  one  or  more  or  all  of  the  sentiments  that  make  up  Armenian 
national  sentiment.  Some  of  them  are  not  to  be  classified  as  readily 
as  this,  as  for  example,  the  festival  of  Ascension  morning,  or  Fortune- 
Telling  Day,  in  which  the  dominant  sentiment  is  one  of  romantic  love, 
or  in  the  Blessing  of  the  Water,  where  the  desire  for  a  gain  in  health  or 
wealth  is  the  main  psychological  fact. 

Each  one  of  these  festivals,  however,  is  a  great  deal  more  than  the 
putting  into  activity  of  some  of  the  above  sentiments.  In  many  of  them 
the  play-instinct  is  clearly  evident,  while  in  a  few  such  as  Vartavar,  the 
whole  self,  with  all  its  sentiments,  instincts,  tendencies,  and  emotions, 
is  given  the  fullest  and  most  unrestrained  freedom.  A  festival,  if  it  is  any- 
thing, is  a  letting  loose  of  the  reins;  there  is  nothing  to  hinder,  nothing 


92  LOUIS   A.    BOETTICER 

to  keep  back,  nothing  to  hide,  nothing  to  fear,  and  the  self  reaches  out  in 
a  higher  consciousness  of  fullness  and  completeness  of  living.  As  such  it 
would  be  the  greatest  of  fallacies  to  suppose  any  one  of  the  festivals  to  be 
restricted  to  a  particular  sentiment.  Nevertheless,  it  is  clear,  that  the  fes- 
tivals do  constitute  vehicles  of  expression  for  the  sentiments  that  make  up 
Armenian  national  sentiment. 

Conclusions 

The  general  conclusions  to  which  this  study  unmistakably  gives  rise 
are  in  respect  to  the  national  traits  of  the  Armenian  people.  These  traits 
have  been  brought  out  both  explicitly  and  implicitly  in  connection  with 
the  various  legends  and  festivals  considered,  and  it  is  my  purpose,  there- 
fore, to  summarize  and  substantiate  them  at  this  point.  They  include, 
first,  the  superstitiousness,  second,  the  conservatism,  third,  the  self-suffi- 
ciency, and  lastly  the  familism  of  the  people. 

First  of  these  qualities,  superstitiousness,  may  be  ascribed  in  large 
measure  to  geographical  isolation.  The  country  to  be  sure,  is  so  situated 
as  to  form  a  highway  from  Europe  to  the  Mesopotamian  valley,  and  from 
Asiatic  Russia  to  the  Mediterranean,  and  although  it  has  been  overrun 
by  Assyrians,  Greeks,  Parthians,  Romans,  Persians,  Turks,  Egyptians, 
and  still  others,  yet  we  must  speak  of  it  as  isolated,  for  the  science  that 
has  brought  remote  countries  into  contact  has  not  affected  Armenia  to 
any  considerable  degree.  Subject  to  a  backward  nation,  lacking  all  mod- 
ern means  of  communication,  the  country  is  shut  off  and  the  plows  of 
civilization  have  not  yet  furrowed  the  social  soil  of  superstition.  How 
general  these  superstitions  are  is  brought  out  especially  by  the  festivals  de- 
scribed, many  of  which  have  given  rise  to  a  superstition  or  a  group  of  super- 
stitions. From  Vartavar,  there  came  the  belief  that  the  dust  from  the  sacred 
altar  served  as  a  talisman  for  children  learning  their  A  B  C's;  the  spring 
fire  festival  gave  rise  to  the  practice  of  taking  home  a  glowing  brand  for 
good  luck;  there  is  the  belief  that  the  blessed  water  will  cure  various  dis- 
eases, and  that  the  oil  scraped  from  the  anointed  foot  with  a  walnut  given 
by  the  priest  after  washing  the  feet  at  the  ceremony  of  Maundy  Thurs- 
day, will  keep  a  supply  of  butter  throughout  the  year.  And  then  there 
are  the  beliefs  in  the  miraculous  power  of  the  holy  oil,  manufactured  with 
due  ceremony  every  four  years  at  Sis;  in  the  healing  power  of  the  various 
sacred  relics  kept  at  Etchmiadzin  and  other  places,  and  ten  thousand 
others.  There  are  also  beliefs  not  of  a  religious  character  as  the  above, 
such  as  the  one  in  regard  to  the  tetagush,  the  little  locust-eating 
bird,  which  is  supposed  to  be  attracted  by  Ararat  spring  water.  The  same 
superstition  obtains  in  other  parts  of  the  country  with  the  difference  that 
the  inconvenience  of  obtaining  Ararat  spring  water  makes  it  necessary 
for  the  people  to  believe  in  the  peculiar  efficacy  of  other  springs.     These 


SUMMARY  93 

illustrations  are  sufficient,  and  although  it  could  hardly  be  proved  that 
Armenians  are  more  innately  superstitious  than  the  Anglo-Saxon  ances- 
tors who  believed  only  a  few  generations  ago  in  the  power  of  the  malig- 
nant eye,  and  that  an  innocent  person  might  pass  through  fire  unharmed, 
yet  their  superstitious  nature  and  beliefs  are  present-day  facts  explained 
most  completely  on  the  ground  of  comparative  isolation  from  the  rest 
of  the  world. 

Second  of  the  national  characteristics  of  the  people  clearly  brought 
out  by  this  study  is  their  conservatism.  This  may  also  be  traced  in  large 
measure  to  their  secluded  condition,  but  in  larger  proportion  is  it  due  to 
the  solidarity  and  national  consciousness,  which  naturally  consider  inno- 
vations as  foreign,  and  intrusions  of  foreign  cultures,  ideals,  customs,  and 
manners  as  hostile.  That  this  is  true  is  indicated  conclusively  by  the 
fact  that  in  Constantinople,  where  Armenian  culture  has  naturally  come 
in  conflict  with  that  of  the  Greek,  the  Turk,  and  the  European,  the  Ar- 
menians have  not  at  all  given  up  their  ways  to  imitate  any  of  the  three 
peoples  mentioned.  To  be  sure  they  have  not  adhered  rigidly  to  the  old 
beliefs  and  practices  of  the  interior.  Comparison  has  resulted  in  substi- 
tution, and  conflict  between  the  rational  and  irrational,  the  utile  and  the 
inutile,  has  meant  displacement,  but  invariably  by  something  distinctly 
different  from  the  usages  and  practices  current  among  Turk  or  European. 
That  is,  Armenians  are  themselves  centers  of  imitation  by  fellow  Arme- 
nians who,  though  they  follow  the  lines  suggested  by  their  fellow  country- 
men, scorn  to  imitate  even  the  European,  whose  superiority  is  generally 
recognized  in  Constantinople.  The  Armenian,  recognizing  no  superior, 
has  merely  modified  his  own  practices,  usages,  manners,  and  customs  to 
suit  his  changed  environment.  And  therefore  I  say  that  the  character- 
istic Armenian  conservatism  is  due  rather  to  a  strong  feeling  of  nationality 
than  to  isolation. 

The  conservatism  of  the  church  has  been  an  important  element.  Re- 
fusing to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  decisions  of  the  Council  of  Chal- 
cedon,  the  church  became  independent  and  has  maintained  a  policy  of  the 
most  rigid  ultra-conservatism  ever  since.    Says  Ormanian: 

The  Armenian  church  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  this  transaction  (Chalcedon) 
which  was  prompted  by  a  design  that  had  no  bearing  on  theology.  She  remained 
firm  in  her  original  resolve,  and  ever  maintained  an  attitude  of  ultra-conservatism. 
She  set  herself  to  resist  every  new  dogmatic  utterance  said  to  emanate  from  revel- 
ation, as  well  as  every  innovation  which  could  in  any  way  pervert  the  primitive  faith.1 

That  this  same  spirit  is  reflected  in  the  social  life  of  the  people  is  something 
one  would  naturally  expect,  in  view  of  the  important  influence  of  the  church 
over  the  entire  life  of  the  people.     As  the  father  of  the  Alan  princess 

1  Ormanian  p.  36. 


94  LOUIS  A.   BOETTICER 

replied  when  requested  to  give  the  hand  of  his  daughter  to  Artasches,  "From 
whence  shall  brave  Artasches  give  thousands  upon  thousands  and  ten 
thousands  upon  tens  of  thousands  unto  the  Alans  in  return  for  the  maiden?" 
so  to-day  the  first  question  that  is  asked  when  the  hand  of  a  young  Ar- 
menian girl  is  requested  in  marriage  is  "What  can  he  give  for  his  bride?" 
The  practice  of  wife  purchase  has  only  changed  in  that  the  required  riches 
are  given  to  the  bride  instead  of  to  the  father  of  the  bride.  Occasionally 
a  young  man  is  pressed  to  the  point  of  mortgaging  property  in  order  to 
obtain  the  necessary  funds,  and  it  has  been  known  that  in  many  such 
cases  the  young  bride  found  her  treasure  gone  shortly  after  her  marriage, 
her  master  having  taken  it  to  pay  off  his  mortgage.  So  parents  arrange 
for  the  marriage  of  their  children,  the  young  wife  is  delivered  up  to  her 
husband  as  the  obedient  and  submissive  servant,  children  are  baptized 
after  they  have  scarcely  opened  their  eyes,  and  church  ceremonies  are 
conducted  much  as  they  have  been  for  generations. 

The  self-sufficiency  of  the  Armenian  people  has  been  indicated  in  the 
repeated  failures  of  missionary  religions  and  foreign  cultures  to  alter  ap- 
preciably the  native  folkways  and  mores.  In  spite  of  political  subordi- 
nation to  Islam,  the  Gregorian  church  has  held  tenaciously  to  its  ideals 
and  has  successfully  maintained  its  independence.  The  distinctive  social 
tradition,— which  includes  the  political  and  the  religious  traditions,— has 
remained  intact  in  the  face  of  recurrent  invasion,  vassalage,  and  perse- 
cution. The  Armenian  will  not  be  assimilated.  Death  is  preferable  to 
the  loss  of  those  intangible  realities  that  make  the  people  a  distinctive 
group.  When  Haic,  the  patriarchal  progenitor  of  the  race,  was  invited 
to  "soften  his  hard  pride,"  and  to  return  to  the  kingdom  of  the  god  Bel, 
the  alternative,  war,  was  chosen.  In  the  year  450,  when  the  Persian  fire- 
worshippers  invited  the  Armenians  to  change  their  faith,  the  answer  again 
was  war.  The  reply  to  the  decision  of  Chalcedon  illustrates  the  same  spirit. 
Likewise  through  the  centuries  of  the  immediate  past  the  ever  recurring 
answer  to  the  Turk  has  been  war.  Powerless  to  assimilate  the  Armenian 
people,  the  Turk  has  had  to  annihilate  or  be  annihilated.  The  self-suffi- 
ciency of  the  people  thus  reveals  itself  in  the  will  to  maintain  the  dis- 
tinctive social  tradition,  regardless  of  cost  or  sacrifice. 

The  characteristic  familism  reveals  itself  not  only  in  the  customs  of 
family  life,  but  also  in  the  very  nature  of  the  Armenian.  In  Russian  Ar- 
menia there  is  a  very  active  propaganda  carried  on  by  Russian  girls  to 
secure  Armenian  husbands  because  of  the  domesticity  of  the  latter,  which 
is  in  striking  contrast  to  the  adventurous  unfaithfulness  of  the  Russian 
husband,  whose  house  becomes  his  prison,  from  which  he  therefore  flees,  leav- 
ing his  wife  and  children  to  shift  for  themselves.  The  discontented  Rus- 
sian may  be  a  more  attractive  lover  for  his  "Wanderlust"  and  restlessness, 


SUMMARY  95 

but  he  is  a  less  attractive  husband  for  the  same  reason.  An  Armenian  hus- 
band belongs  in  his  home,  where  he  lives  in  the  hope  that  some  day  he  may 
be  the  father  of  a  huge  household  of  married  sons  and  grandsons.  A  young 
Armenian  I  know  spoke  to  me  of  his  wish  that  some  day  his  father  might 
collect  the  scattered  sons  and  unite  them  and  their  families  in  a  single 
household.  This  desire  is  so  general  among  Armenians  as  to  make  it  evi- 
dent that  the  family  is  the  all-important  social  unit.  No  reputation  is 
so  great  as  that  carried  by  a  good  family  name,  nor  is  there  any  so  damning 
as  that  which  goes  with  a  bad  family  name.  And  why  is  the  young  bride 
kept  silent  for  years  if  not  to  ensure  the  all-essential  family-unity,  family- 
solidarity,  and  family-continuity, — that  is,  continuity  of  family  tradi- 
tion, manners,  and  customs?  And  why  is  the  "patria-potestas"  well-nigh 
unlimited  if  not  for  precisely  the  same  reason?  Nor  is  the  taboo  upon 
the  young  bride,  according  to  which  she  may  not  speak  to  any  young  man 
not  a  relative  during  her  entire  life  of  marriage,  of  no  significance  in  this 
connection.  It  too  precludes  family  disruption,  or  blemish  on  the  family 
name.  Divorce  and  infidelity  are  very  rare,  all  family  differences  having 
no  tribunal  outside  the  patriarch,  who  considers  his  greatest  misfortune 
to  be  a  lack  of  family  integrity  or  oneness.  Thus  a  son  who  has  been  swayed 
by  Protestantism  dares  not  clash  with  his  father,  and  has  no  choice 
but  to  run  away,  while  a  daughter  whose  wishes  are  contrary  can  be  dis- 
obedient only  at  the  cost  of  breaking  the  family  connection,  to  prevent 
which  she  is  usually  ready  to  make  any  sacrifice.  All  of  this  is  no  accident. 
Forced  to  dwell  within  the  circle  of  the  family  group  for  seven,  eight,  or 
nine  months  during  the  year  without  so  much  as  opening  his  door,  because 
of  the  severity  of  winter,  the  life  of  the  patriarch  is  inevitably  centered  in 
his  household,  and  therefore  also  the  self  of  each  member  is  merged  into 
the  larger  unit.  This  familism  throws  additional  light  on  some  of  the  con- 
clusions I  have  insisted  upon,  for  nothing  so  fosters  conservatism  as  a  sub- 
stantial family  solidarity;  what  could  be  more  instrumental  in  passing  on 
the  national  sentiment,  and  finally,  what  could  be  more  favorable  to  the 
development  of  the  self-sufficiency,  the  independence  of  Armenian  char- 
acter? In  speaking  of  "familism  and  the  well-knit  family"  Ross  says; 
"Worshippers  of  the  spirit  of  the  hearth,  they  are  more  aloof  from  their 
fellows,  slower  therefore  to  merge  with  them  or  be  swept  from  their  moor- 
ings by  them.  It  seems  to  be  communion  by  the  fire-side  rather  than  com- 
munion in  the  public  resort  that  gives  individuality  long  bracing  roots. 
The  withdrawn  social  self,  although  it  lacks  breadth,  gains  in  depth,  etc."2 
Any  socially  well-knit  people  possessing  a  distinctive  social  tradition, 
and  characterized  by  a  highly  developed  national  consciousness,  may  make 
its  contribution  to  the  world's  work,  if  it  is  given  the  necessary  freedom. 

•  Ross,  Social  Psychology  pp.  88-89. 


96  LOUIS   A.    BOETTIGER 

As  the  period  of  the  Arsacidae  kings  brought  forth  the  golden  age  of 
Armenian  literature,  so  greater  achievements  may  follow  the  political  inde- 
pendence that  is  hoped  for,  and  for  which  Armenians  have  valiantly  strug- 
gled. Lord  Bryce  writes  of  the  Armenian  race,  "It  is  the  only  one  of  the 
native  races  of  Western  Asia  that  is  capable  of  restoring  productive  in- 
dustry and  assured  prosperity  to  the  now  desolate  region  that  was  the 
earliest  home  of  civilization."  In  the  past,  the  energy  of  the  people  has 
been  wasted  in  ceaseless  conflict.  Given  a  guarantee  of  territorial  integ- 
rity, and  participation  in  the  affairs  of  government  with  the  hope  of  future 
autonomy,  the  energies  of  strife  will  be  diverted  to  the  work  of  peace. 
Not  until  then  can  the  high  calling  expressed  in  the  words  of  Lord  Bryce 
be  realized. 


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